Shaken Baby Celeste’s Story of Hope
Donation protected
I am a family friend, sharing a sad story of a beautiful young couple and their precious daughter, Celeste. This family is starting a long journey of acceptance and recovery and I hope you will take a moment to read and share their story.
On the morning of March 15th of this year, sweet little Celeste was happily running and jumping around. She delighted her Mommy and Daddy with squeals of laughter and close snuggles with both them and her beloved English bulldog, Winston.
She was dropped off at her babysitter’s house on her Mommy’s way to work.
Hours later, the babysitter's daughter called to say Celeste was unresponsive and barely breathing.
The sweet 17-month-old girl was rushed to the hospital, fighting for her life. Little did anyone know the life she would be fighting for would now be filled with struggle, pain and disability.
Celeste is suffering injuries consistent with Abusive Head Trauma (aka Shaken Baby Syndrome). A CT scan showed subdural hematomas, or brain bleeds, and her other injuries include retinal hemorrhaging, a soft tissue injury to the neck and a laceration in the back of her throat. Celeste was sedated for nearly two weeks in the ICU at her local children’s hospital while the doctors managed to keep her alive with basic life support services. Her parents were told not to expect very much, but to everyone’s great joy, Celeste finally opened her beautiful eyes after 9 long days. But instead of her usual lively and animated look, she stares blankly. Her head rolls to the side unsupported by her neck, her eyes don’t see, and she cannot squeeze back when she is given a hug. Every part of her body has to be supported as if she is a one-month old baby. She has made some progress; she is now breathing on her own and eating soft foods that are spoon-fed to her four times a day.
Though we cannot know what life holds for Celeste, the facts are that 20% of children diagnosed with abusive head trauma (AHT) die, while 80% are disabled to varying degrees. Survivors may require lifelong medical care for a variety of conditions.
Oddly enough, medical rehabilitation for children with AHT is not as prevalent as one would expect in the US. There have been instances where children with these injuries were able to reclaim their futures and live a fulfilling life with a “new normal.” However, in many of these cases, it fell to the parents to push for the medical treatment and families have often had to travel out-of/state to one of few facilities offering specialized care.
One such success story can be seen here in this video http://youtu.be/3xDw6MQ8HIA presented by one heroic mother who would not give up on her little girl by accepting the medical community’s status quo for treatment. The video is informative, yet it is shocking that our medical system isn’t prepared to fully rehabilitate children in these cases. Often, medical staff will release the child to go home, prescribe some treatment and “see how it goes.”
Thankfully, Celeste’s family is cut from the same cloth as the mother in the video. They are committed to doing everything it takes to help their little girl live the happy and fulfilling life she deserves.
Celeste’s mom is just like me. She's like all of us. She’s kind, compassionate, educated and a wonderful person dedicated to her daughter. She and her husband are over-the-moon in love with Celeste and have always felt grateful to have been blessed with their child. This hits home for me because they are just like all of us; they are genuinely good people. This horrible thing happened to good people.
As a mother myself, I can imagine experiencing the range of feelings Celeste’s family is experiencing, with the most significant being the loss of hopes and dreams for my child's future and the devastation of knowing she will likely be permanently disabled. Her tiny little body had accomplished so many great things in her 17-months, and now she is unable to perform any of those skills. If she is lucky, she may be able to re-learn some of those things after extensive therapies.
I cannot conceive of dropping my happy and healthy little one off at the babysitter’s to go to work and then get that devastating call. In a moment, your entire world comes crashing down. Unfortunately, we have yet to find out exactly what happened to Celeste. We know the babysitter’s daughter called Celeste’s parents to tell them Celeste was in trouble, and that there is an ongoing investigation. We also know that in that moment, this beautiful family’s life changed forever. There are so many tears.
My hope is that we as a community can wrap this family in our loving energy and send them prayers to support them as best we can.
There are so many people who have reached out to ask how they can help. This funding page was created to do just that. The family will need help with Celeste's medical bills, her therapy and rehabilitation, equipment, and medical transport to an out-of-state facility where she can receive the specialized care she needs. The medical transport alone can be in excess of $30,000. As we all know, hospital stays and in-patient rehabilitation are very expensive. I can only anticipate that this sweet family will need a great deal of support.
Most of all, we can give Celeste’s family support to hold her tight and wrap her in love as she begins this new struggle for life and basic skills.
This family needs to be present with their baby, working with her therapists and doctors toward her recovery. They need to be her strength while she acclimates to her new body with its severe limitations. They need to be there to look into her eyes with love when Celeste realizes something is terribly wrong.
We can give the gift of being present with her.
Please consider donating to baby Celeste's recovery. I've set this site up in the family's name with donations ONLY accessible by her family. They will receive every one of your prayers and every dollar to support her.
When so much has been taken from Celeste, and from her family, let us be a gift.
Thank you from this mama's heart. ❤️
On the morning of March 15th of this year, sweet little Celeste was happily running and jumping around. She delighted her Mommy and Daddy with squeals of laughter and close snuggles with both them and her beloved English bulldog, Winston.
She was dropped off at her babysitter’s house on her Mommy’s way to work.
Hours later, the babysitter's daughter called to say Celeste was unresponsive and barely breathing.
The sweet 17-month-old girl was rushed to the hospital, fighting for her life. Little did anyone know the life she would be fighting for would now be filled with struggle, pain and disability.
Celeste is suffering injuries consistent with Abusive Head Trauma (aka Shaken Baby Syndrome). A CT scan showed subdural hematomas, or brain bleeds, and her other injuries include retinal hemorrhaging, a soft tissue injury to the neck and a laceration in the back of her throat. Celeste was sedated for nearly two weeks in the ICU at her local children’s hospital while the doctors managed to keep her alive with basic life support services. Her parents were told not to expect very much, but to everyone’s great joy, Celeste finally opened her beautiful eyes after 9 long days. But instead of her usual lively and animated look, she stares blankly. Her head rolls to the side unsupported by her neck, her eyes don’t see, and she cannot squeeze back when she is given a hug. Every part of her body has to be supported as if she is a one-month old baby. She has made some progress; she is now breathing on her own and eating soft foods that are spoon-fed to her four times a day.
Though we cannot know what life holds for Celeste, the facts are that 20% of children diagnosed with abusive head trauma (AHT) die, while 80% are disabled to varying degrees. Survivors may require lifelong medical care for a variety of conditions.
Oddly enough, medical rehabilitation for children with AHT is not as prevalent as one would expect in the US. There have been instances where children with these injuries were able to reclaim their futures and live a fulfilling life with a “new normal.” However, in many of these cases, it fell to the parents to push for the medical treatment and families have often had to travel out-of/state to one of few facilities offering specialized care.
One such success story can be seen here in this video http://youtu.be/3xDw6MQ8HIA presented by one heroic mother who would not give up on her little girl by accepting the medical community’s status quo for treatment. The video is informative, yet it is shocking that our medical system isn’t prepared to fully rehabilitate children in these cases. Often, medical staff will release the child to go home, prescribe some treatment and “see how it goes.”
Thankfully, Celeste’s family is cut from the same cloth as the mother in the video. They are committed to doing everything it takes to help their little girl live the happy and fulfilling life she deserves.
Celeste’s mom is just like me. She's like all of us. She’s kind, compassionate, educated and a wonderful person dedicated to her daughter. She and her husband are over-the-moon in love with Celeste and have always felt grateful to have been blessed with their child. This hits home for me because they are just like all of us; they are genuinely good people. This horrible thing happened to good people.
As a mother myself, I can imagine experiencing the range of feelings Celeste’s family is experiencing, with the most significant being the loss of hopes and dreams for my child's future and the devastation of knowing she will likely be permanently disabled. Her tiny little body had accomplished so many great things in her 17-months, and now she is unable to perform any of those skills. If she is lucky, she may be able to re-learn some of those things after extensive therapies.
I cannot conceive of dropping my happy and healthy little one off at the babysitter’s to go to work and then get that devastating call. In a moment, your entire world comes crashing down. Unfortunately, we have yet to find out exactly what happened to Celeste. We know the babysitter’s daughter called Celeste’s parents to tell them Celeste was in trouble, and that there is an ongoing investigation. We also know that in that moment, this beautiful family’s life changed forever. There are so many tears.
My hope is that we as a community can wrap this family in our loving energy and send them prayers to support them as best we can.
There are so many people who have reached out to ask how they can help. This funding page was created to do just that. The family will need help with Celeste's medical bills, her therapy and rehabilitation, equipment, and medical transport to an out-of-state facility where she can receive the specialized care she needs. The medical transport alone can be in excess of $30,000. As we all know, hospital stays and in-patient rehabilitation are very expensive. I can only anticipate that this sweet family will need a great deal of support.
Most of all, we can give Celeste’s family support to hold her tight and wrap her in love as she begins this new struggle for life and basic skills.
This family needs to be present with their baby, working with her therapists and doctors toward her recovery. They need to be her strength while she acclimates to her new body with its severe limitations. They need to be there to look into her eyes with love when Celeste realizes something is terribly wrong.
We can give the gift of being present with her.
Please consider donating to baby Celeste's recovery. I've set this site up in the family's name with donations ONLY accessible by her family. They will receive every one of your prayers and every dollar to support her.
When so much has been taken from Celeste, and from her family, let us be a gift.
Thank you from this mama's heart. ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Erin Guth-Humphreys
Organizer
Indianapolis, IN
Courtney Sparks
Beneficiary
