Emily Bodily is the mother of Elijah Fisher who was shaken and killed by his biological father just days before Christmas in 1997. His life and the ensuing aftermath of his death is the subject of the documentary Elijah’s Story, produced and distributed by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS) and formed the basis of the NCSBS’ hospital- and school-based shaken baby syndrome prevention programs during its early years.

Emily’s interview begins our 5-episode series celebrating the NCSBS’ 25 years of working to keep babies safe through shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma (SBS/AHT) prevention education. This series brings in a parent of a victim of SBS/AHT, a doctor, medical examiner, attorney and long-time donor to discuss how the NCSBS has impacted SBS/AHT prevention in their respective arenas.

In this episode, Emily recollects on the short life of her son Elijah, his fight to survive, the ensuing court case, and the enormous impact Elijah’s Story has had in the fight to prevent SBS/AHT. Emily’s interview includes details about her and Elijah’s life that you won’t find in the documentary including her struggle to handle Elijah’s abuse and eventual death, her feelings of empathy for Elijah’s father, Jason, who admitted to shaking and killing Elijah, and the impact of one moment with elementary school children that inspired her to get involved in SBS/AHT prevention.

Brought to you by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS).

The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the NCSBS.

Follow the NCSBS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

This final episode of our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series brings us a conversation with Christine Baker, program coordinator for Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Child Protection Advocacy and Outreach Program.

Christine tells us that Seattle Children’s led a summit to address #ShakenBabySyndrome (SBS) prevention after seeing SBS cases triple during the recession in 2008. The summit resulted in a task force consisting of law enforcement, medical professionals and child protective services officials that ultimately chose the Period of #PURPLEcrying as the state prevention program.

It took Christine and her team several years to build PURPLE into the state-wide program it was intended to be, requiring support in training and fidelity to ensure the program’s success. Christine feels the joy of success when she hears from new families who benefited from the Period of PURPLE Crying education they received and stays committed to prevention having worked with several families of victims of SBS/AHT in Washington state.

Brought to you by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS).

Brought to you by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS).

The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the NCSBS.

Follow the NCSBS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

JoAnn Otten is our guest in this 7th of 8 episodes of our special April Child Abuse Prevention series giving our listeners firsthand experiences into Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) cases. JoAnn Otten is the grandmother of Miley, who was shaken by her biological father when she was just 7 months old. JoAnn talks about her suspicion that Miley's father abused her after he initially told investigators that Miley had fallen off the couch. JoAnn describes the intense anger she felt toward Miley's father after confirming the abuse and how that anger consumed her for several years and led her into contacting her local representative in hopes of passing a law that would but child abusers behind bars for longer terms. JoAnn admits to feeling discouraged after her representative tried to re-focus her attention to child abuse prevention but discovering that prevention was the right path after she began working tirelessly to educate her community about SBS and shared Miley's story.

JoAnn tells us about the spiritual awakening she felt that allowed her to forgive Miley's father for abusing Miley and shares how she first came upon the idea for Miley’s Law that would create a public state child abuse offender registry after finding a similar bill that passed in Indiana. She details how she and her community worked tirelessly to build support in the state legislature for Miley’s Law and the relief and joy that overwhelmed her when the bill passed into law by one vote. Brought to you by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS).

Brought to you by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS).

The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the NCSBS.

Follow the NCSBS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.