2:00PM CST Contest Update! BIG CHANGES!

SBS Race Track BILLBOARD SIGN CONTEST UPDATE
Billboard Sign Contest Update!!!
As you know the BILLBOARD SIGN Contest began June 15, 2011 and is set to end JULY 17th 2011 at 11:59PM CST! Anyone can vote and ANY child can be entered into the contest! All it takes is 1 vote! Pending the fund raised of $300, the WINNER will be on the billboard sign that is 4FT by 8FT at the Toledo Ohio Speedway in Toledo Ohio on Shaken Baby Syndrome RACE NIGHT August 5th!!!! The winner of this contest will be on a billboard sign in the BEST viewable location on the track and will be recognized with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners (SBS Heros) that won the RACE CAR contest in October 2010!! (Xavier, Maddie, and Jules) :)

Each $1.00 equals 1 vote!! You can get your vote in today by going to: http://www.shakenbabysupport.com and clicking on the "MERCHANDISE" tab on the website, and purchasing your tickets there! Each vote counts!!

Please remember to pass along this information to all your friends and family!!! The ONLY requirement for this contest is the guardians permission!

GOOD LUCK!! Keep the votes coming!!!! :)

As of July 17th, 2011 2:20pm CST

Evalee Johnsen - 33 VOTES
Kaleb Schwade - 39 VOTES
Evelynn Biondo - 17 VOTES
Dominic DeWitt - 115 VOTES
Riley Gilbert - 102 VOTES
Lily Yeager - 97 VOTES
Trevor Paour - 17 VOTES
Madilyne Wentz - 32 VOTES
Colby Thompson - 12 VOTES
Sarah Jane Donohue - 52 VOTES
Xavier Delgado - 50 VOTES
Juliana "Jules" Thaxton - 67 VOTES


FIRST PLACE - Dominic DeWitt
SECOND PLACE - Riley Gilbert
THIRD PLACE - Lily Yeagar

KEEP VOTING! Contest ends TONIGHT!!!
As always if any concerns arise, please contact Rachel ASAP at rachel@sbssupportnetwork.com

SBS Race Track BILLBOARD SIGN CONTEST UPDATE

Billboard Sign Contest Update!!!
As you know the BILLBOARD SIGN Contest began June 15, 2011 and is set to end JULY 17th 2011 at 11:59PM CST! Anyone can vote and ANY child can be entered into the contest! All it takes is 1 vote! Pending the fund raised of $300, the WINNER will be on the billboard sign that is 4FT by 8FT at the Toledo Ohio Speedway in Toledo Ohio on Shaken Baby Syndrome RACE NIGHT August 5th!!!! The winner of this contest will be on a billboard sign in the BEST viewable location on the track and will be recognized with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners (SBS Heros) that won the RACE CAR contest in October 2010!! (Xavier, Maddie, and Jules) :)

Each $1.00 equals 1 vote!! You can get your vote in today by going to: http://www.shakenbabysupport.com and clicking on the "MERCHANDISE" tab on the website, and purchasing your tickets there! Each vote counts!!

Please remember to pass along this information to all your friends and family!!! The ONLY requirement for this contest is the guardians permission!

GOOD LUCK!! Keep the votes coming!!!! :)

As of July 16th, 2011 8:20pm CST

Evalee Johnsen - 33 VOTES
Kaleb Schwade - 39 VOTES
Evelynn Biondo - 17 VOTES
Dominic DeWitt - 95 VOTES
Riley Gilbert - 82 VOTES
Lilly Yeager - 92 VOTES
Trevor Paour - 17 VOTES
Madilyne Wentz - 32 VOTES
Colby Thompson - 12 VOTES


FIRST PLACE - Dominic DeWitt
SECOND PLACE - Lilly Yeager
THIRD PLACE - Riley Gilbert

KEEP VOTING!
As always if any concerns arise, please contact Rachel ASAP at rachel@sbssupportnetwork.com

Urgent! We need 2 minutes of your time! From Patrick Donohue

As you know, we have been working for several years to create and now implement the National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan (PABI Plan) which develops a seamless, standardized, evidence-based system of care for the millions of American families who have a child/young adult suffering from the #1 leading cause of death and disability for our youth: brain injury!

We are on the cusp of making history and we need just a little bit of help from you and your friends; please take just TWO minutes (120 seconds) to help change the world for millions of our families who have a child/young adult with a brain injury.

Later this week Congressman Leonard Lance will be introducing the National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan Act (PABI Plan Act) which will create a $2.9 Billion, seven-year initiative to implement the PABI Plan (this legislation will NOT create any new federal agency, will NOT add any new federal jobs and will NOT add a penny to the federal budget). Simply put, the PABI Plan will make sure the millions of our American families will no longer need to reinvent the wheel to care for their child with a brain injury!

Please follow these three easy steps which will take no longer that 120 seconds:
1. Find out who your Member of Congress is: by going to this website and entering in your Zip Code you can easily find out who represents you in Congress
click here: http://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP
2. Send us an email to Ted@TheBrainProject.org with the name of your Member of Congress
3. We will email you the name and phone number of the appropriate staff person to call and leave a 30-second message encouraging your Member of Congress to be a co-sponsor of the PABI Plan Act

It is that SIMPLE and that EASY!! Members of Congress like to hear from their constituents and your message will mean a lot! We are trying to get 100 co-sponsors by Friday (50 Republicans and 50 Democrats)!

And finally, if you can ask any family or friends to take TWO minutes from their day to do the same thing by simply forwarding this message to them!

If you would like to learn more about the PABI Plan and our efforts, please read my letter to Sarah Jane when she turn five: www.TheBrainProject.org/lettertosarahjane.php and if you would like to read the three-page PABI Plan Act please visit www.TheBrainProject.org/PABIPlanAct.php

I cannot thank you enough in advance for taking TWO minutes out of your day for Sarah Jane and the millions of American children/young adults just like her across the country!

All the best,
Patrick

Patrick B. Donohue, Esq.
Founder, The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation
339 Fifth Avenue - Suite 405
New York, NY 10016
(212) 576-1180
www.TheBrainProject.org

Billboard Sign Contest Update!!!

As you know the BILLBOARD SIGN Contest began June 15, 2011 and is set to end JULY 15th 2011 at 11:59PM CST! Anyone can vote and ANY child can be entered into the contest! All it takes is 1 vote! Pending the fund raised of $300, the WINNER will be on the billboard sign that is 4FT by 8FT at the Toledo Ohio Speedway in Toledo Ohio on Shaken Baby Syndrome RACE NIGHT August 5th!!!! The winner of this contest will be on a billboard sign in the BEST viewable location on the track and will be recognized with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners (SBS Heros) that won the RACE CAR contest in October 2010!! (Xavier, Maddie, and Jules) :)

Each $1.00 equals 1 vote!! You can get your vote in today by going to: http://www.shakenbabysupport.com and clicking on the "MERCHANDISE" tab on the website, and purchasing your tickets there! Each vote counts!!

Please remember to pass along this information to all your friends and family!!! The ONLY requirement for this contest is the guardians permission!

GOOD LUCK!! Keep the votes coming!!!! :)

As of July 8th, 2011 8:20pm CST

Evalee Johnsen - 23 VOTES
Kaleb Schwade - 19 VOTES
Evelynn Biondo - 17 VOTES
Dominic DeWitt - 35 VOTES
Riley Gilbert - 72 VOTES
Lilly Yeager - 27 VOTES
Trevor Paour - 17 VOTES
Madilyne Wentz - 20 VOTES
Colby Thompson - 12 VOTES


FIRST PLACE - RILEY GILBERT
SECOND PLACE - DOMINIC DEWITT
THIRD PLACE - LILLY YEAGER

KEEP VOTING!
As always if any concerns arise, please contact Rachel ASAP at rachel@sbssupportnetwork.com

2011 SBS Vigil LIVESTREAM Videos! Watch HERE!!!

What an awesome year for the families and the Network! A more indepth update and pictures are coming, but I know many of you stated you were not able to find/view the live stream or videos following the event so I wanted to take a moment and post them here for your viewing! Enjoy, and please let me know if there are any issues!

All my best,
Rachel
rachel@sbssupportnetwork.com
http://www.shakenbabysupport.com
FACEBOOK
TWITTER



On our way to pick up the families at the Tampa Airport!


A portion of the families have arrived and are EXCITED!


The VIGIL Begins!









The Morelocks celebrated their vow renewal with a surprise ceremony from their son DJ and his good friend Hunter <3

A few families stayed, to take Dominic, a SBS Survivor, to Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and Rachel, released a balloon that went straight to Heaven for Madilyne <3

Jackson's Story

Another little who is a survivor of Shaken Baby Syndrome, a hero in so many ways.



Jackson Alexander Greer was born September 21st, 2009. He was a beautiful, healthy 6lbs. 15oz. boy. Jackson was always a great baby, a mama's boy from day 1. We did have troubles finding a formula that would work with his digestive system. Jackson only cried during diaper change, wanting to be held, or if he had a stomach ache. All those can be easily taken care of, patience is the key to having children. I went back to work when Jackson was 6 weeks old. One of my friends was opening her own daycare and wanted to watch my boys to get started. She had 2 kids of her own. She never once told me she couldn't handle Jackson. She always said he was a good baby along with his brother James. On December 8, 2009 Brandi had sent me a few text messages at work saying Jackson had fallen off the bed. She said she was changing him, reached over to grab a wipe, James pulled on the blanket, and Jackson rolled off the bed. The thing I didn't understand was why didn't she see that happening? Jackson supposedly landed on his stomach and cried for about 30 minutes then he was fine. I'm one of those paranoid moms so I left work and rushed Jackson to the pediatrician. Dr. Porter of Idaho Falls Pediatrics was the one checking Jackson over. To tell you the truth he made me feel like an idiot for bringing him in there. I told him the story and he looked at me with this dumb founded face, and asked why I brought him in? HE'S 3 MONTHS OLD AND FELL OFF A BED! I asked him to please check him out, so he felt his neck and his ribs and said he was fine. He then sent us on our way. Not once did it cross my mind that someone I trusted would shake my defenseless baby. That's something you only hear on the news. After that incident Jackson started to get more and fussier. He also wasn't gaining weight. On December 16th Jackson started throwing up his whole bottle; none of it would stay down. So the next day I took him right in and once again Dr. Porter looked at him. His original doctor was Smith who was always busy. He told me he had acid reflex, which that was wrong I later found out. He actually had a concussion. He prescribed some medicine for Jackson and told me to give the medicine a couple of days. The medicine kind of seemed like it was working, but he was still fussy, throwing up somewhat, and he had diarrhea. When I called to ask about it the nurse told me that was normal. The last day Brandi watched him was December 23rd. I was getting off at 8 pm and would be leaving for California. We went to go see Jason's family, the father of my kids. When i got to her house she already had Jackson in his car seat asleep. I left to go meet Jason at his house so we could start driving. Before we got to Twin Falls I asked Jason to please pull over I needed to check on Jackson he wasn't fussing at all. I pulled him out of his car seat and he had spit up with what looked like his brown medicine on him. So i changed him and talked to him, but he was acting strange. So we got back in the car and started driving again. I called my mother telling her about it, but she said maybe he was car sick? Before we got to Elko Nevada I had pulled Jackson out of his car seat and just held him. He wasn't eating or fussing. We got a hotel room, called Brandi to see if she noticed anything different, and also called the on call nurse. The on call nurse told me to try giving him 2 ounces of water, and Brandi didn't answer. I slept off and on through the night with Jackson laying right next to me and right on my chest. About 4 am Christmas Eve he started twitching on his right side. I was really freaked out so called the on call nurse once again, and she told me she would have to look at him to know what the twitching was. Brandi finally called me in the morning, but she said she noticed nothing and started to cry about her marital problems. I told her I would talk to her later, and kept calling the pediatrician. I never could get a hold of anyone, so I took a quick shower, and that's when they called. So I called them back but I got no one once again. I told Jason I just wanted to get him to a good hospital. So we started on our way again. From Elko to the top of Donner Pass I held Jackson the whole time. I was so worried I didn't want to put him down. He wasn't eating, babbling, and his right side would twitch. During the time I kept in touch with my mother, Jason's mother, my sister, and my best friend. I did get Jackson to drink 3 ounces of pedialyte and sprite mixed together. We had reached Elk Grove, California, where Jason's grandmother lived. We dropped off James and Jason's older sister. We then went to the emergency room. Jackson was so white and frail it was the worst I have seen my baby. When I got him in the E.R. they took his weight and I explained everything. He weighed 8 lbs, defiantly not normal for a 3 1/2 month old. We went into another room, explained everything 2 more times, and that's when Jackson had another twitching moment. The twitching was a seizure. He had another seizure and died right there in front of me. Everything happened so fast after that, so many doctors and nurses were running around. We went to another room where they started to work on Jackson. I couldn't stay since they were putting in a ventilator, so they put Jason and I in a little tiny room away from my baby. Wrong thing to do for a mama who loves her children. I started calling my little brother begging him to go wake up our parents to tell them Jackson stopped breathing. I couldn't handle it anymore so I went by Jackson's room. A nurse stood there with me and talked to try to calm me down. I finally got to go see my baby, but I had to leave so they could go to a cat scan. They then transferred him to U.C. Davis Hospital in Sacramento.

I never left his side. He had 4 doctors when we got to ICU, but not one thought he was going to make it. We got there at midnight Christmas day. I cried and cried and just held my little man's hand. I slept on a bed next to him. Later that day I left to go shower and see James. I ate dinner but wanted to leave the whole time. I watched James open some Christmas presents, and after that I left to go back. I took Jackson his stocking and glow worm I had gotten him for Christmas. I never wanted to leave him. I was a complete mess I couldn't finish my sentences and just cried.

On the 25th I did ask the doctor if it was shaken baby syndrome. He explained to me that his little brain was so bruised and so much blood was in his little head that his soft spot was no longer soft. it was hard as a rock and bulging out. I called my family right away to let them know. My sister flew out to put my head back on straight and to be there with me. Thank God I had her at that time; I would have never got everything straight. Words cannot express how thankful I am to her. On the 26th I had to make a decision to either put a tube in Jackson's head to drain the blood or not. Of course I chose the tube. So much blood came out of his little head. I couldn't hold him for a whole week because of the ventilator. He was sedated during that time, but I still told him all the time he was so strong and could make it through this. I would sing to him, tell him stories, talk about the future, and tell him how much I loved him. So many tests were done on him during that time, but we had to do it. January 2nd was the first day I got to hold him again; they had taken out the ventilator. That was the most wonderful feeling in the world I didn't want to put him down, but of course had to. We finally got to come home January 15th which was relief. A week after that I got Jackson to hold his own head up and he started moving his right side. A mother’s love does a lot of healing on its own. Our stay in the hospital Jackson got a great formula that helped him, Similac Alimentum, and he had to relearn how to eat. He couldn't move his right side and no longer could hold his head up. A respiratory and occupational therapist would come to see Jackson everyday. The occupational was to work on his eating with a bottle, no longer a feeding tube. We had many meetings with doctors to check on Jackson's progress and to make sure we understood everything. We learned that Jackson was shook the first time on the 8th of December that's when he got a fractured shoulder. The throwing up was a concussion, not acid reflex, and the last time he was shook was the last day she watched him, the 23rd. His little body couldn't take it anymore so he slowly started to die on me. She shook him so hard his brain was bruised from hitting his skull and his brain stem had been damaged. He does have permanent brain and stem damage to this day, but you would really never know. The doctors weren't sure if he would ever crawl, walk, or be able to talk, but he has proved he is a miracle. He is so strong and I'm so proud of him. He is the sweetest little man and has a gorgeous smile. Jackson goes to therapy twice a week for 2 hours each day. He has occupational and speech therapy, which has helped tremendously. He did have a balance issue, but that was due to the brain stem damage. His right eye now goes lazy so he wears a patch one hour a day along with trying to get him to wear glasses. I've seen such an improvement on him, that I thank God every day to letting me keep my miracle baby. He is currently 7 months behind on speech, but he will catch right up. He is so smart. For me it has been a challenge in life, but I stay strong for my kids. I do have nightmares of Brandi coming to my house and shaking Jackson again. I get paranoid a lot and only trust few to watch him or any of my kids. I do cry to this day, but its only because just the thought that I almost lost my baby just kills me. I just try not to dwell on the past, look towards a nice healthy future with my children, and give my babies hugs and kisses every day. I've also talked to other mothers of children who have either been survivors or victims of shaken baby syndrome. Everyone needs to know more and more about SBS than what they do. People just need to realize babies cry because that's their way of talking, and to just walk away if you can’t handle the crying anymore. Children are the most important to our future. So please pass the knowledge around to not shake a baby. It is murder and should have more punishment than what it does.

Watch LIVE April 14 - April 16 2011

As many of you know we have been frantically preparing for the 5th Annual Shaken Baby Syndrome Candlelight Vigil! I will be posting many pictures on twitter and facebook(for the support network) and on my personal facebook, but I wanted to post here the live stream where you can view! You can also catch up on anything you may have missed by clicking HERE. Will be in Florida for 13 days, leaving on Monday and will be posting on and off through the entire journey to the vigil. THEN on Friday April 15th at 7:00p.m. EST you can come here, our website, or by clicking the link below to watch LIVE from the SBS Vigil!

Please check out http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shaken-baby-syndrome-candlelight-vigil-2011 to view all the videos, directly below the live stream on that page to see videos and clips of all the happenings from April 14-April16! We will be picking up 13 families at the airport all day Thursday and will begin broadcasting on and off from 12pm-3pm EST!

Thank you for ALL of your support! Look forward to sharing with you many memories ahead!

Love,

Rachel

Live Videos by Ustream