Dad Sentenced to 32 Years for Abusing Infant Son. Adoptive Family Shares Truth About SBS
Diane Fowler has a story that she wants to share with everyone — and with good reason. It’s an important story, and involves the life of one of her sons, Carter.
Diane and her husband, Cliff, have three biological children, all grown. Their son has a “rare chromosomal abnormality,” as explained on their Fundrazr page, and still lives with them.
Some parents would only find the negatives in this kind of situation. Instead, the Fowlers embraced it and set out to help other children whose parents made a crueler choice.
That’s what led them to welcome Artie and Carter into their lives. Artie was born prematurely and has developmental delays and autism. He joined their family at the tender age of three.
Carter has a very sad story. All of his current maladies could have been avoided if his biological parents had more patience and love for him.
Carter’s biological father became angry at the infant’s crying and would regularly shake him to try to get him to stop. That progressed to even more sickeningly violent behavior when Carter was only 5 weeks old.
He didn’t just shake him. He also threw the 5-week-old baby against the wall, leaving the baby with bruises, broken bones and permanent brain damage. It also left him legally blind.
While the father was sentenced to 32 years, Carter’s biological mother wasn’t much better. The woman who should have protected and nurtured her baby neglected him, and so began a cycle of the boy being handed off to various incompetent foster homes.
Thankfully, he finally ended up in the arms and hearts of the Fowlers.
Diane wrote and submitted his story — written from his perspective — to Love What Matters in hopes that more people would read it and understand the horrible, irreversible dangers of Shaken Baby Syndrome, commonly known as SBS.
“My new mommy seemed very excited to meet me,” Diane wrote, from Carter’s point of view. “She held me a lot and gave me lots of hugs and kisses. So did my new dad. I had two new brothers and two new sisters. I felt safe and loved in my new home right away.”
“I was very sick the first few months at my new home, but my family never left me alone when I had to go to the hospital. One day I choked because of the bad reflux I have. I then had a seizure not long after I choked, and I stopped breathing.”
“My mom had to do CPR on me, and I remember my mommy crying so hard at the hospital. I had to fly in an airplane to a big hospital and stay there until I was all better. My mom was with me the whole time.”
The Fowlers were told that their new son didn’t have a long life expectancy. But with their love, lots of care and therapy, he made impressive strides that astounded everyone.
“In March 2013, I became a Fowler forever,” the story continued. “I was so happy, and I know my mom and dad were too. I have a forever family and am so excited.”
“I still require a lot of care. I have cerebral palsy because of the lack of oxygen from when I was injured. I can’t do anything for myself. My arms and legs don’t work like they are supposed to.”
“I have such bad reflux I choke almost every day. Sometimes just a little bit, and other times I get so choked I get very scared. My mom and dad are so nice to help me, and it doesn’t scare me as bad when they hold my hand and say sweet things to me.”
“I have a special tube that feeds me through my stomach. I have to be hooked up to a feeding pump about 16 hours each day. I am legally blind, but I love to look at the light. I hurt a lot from painful spasms mostly in my legs. I take a lot of medicine several times a day to help me. That’s a lot for a little guy like me to deal with every day. Don’t you agree?”
“But, I still enjoy life just in different ways. I love to giggle at funny sounds. I love to have people talk to me and play with me. I was 6 years old when my mom wrote this for me and now, I am doing better than ever. I will always be injured because of what my bio dad did to me, but I try very hard to accomplish new things all the time.”
It’s a horrific sight to see a helpless child so broken by the actions of inhumane people. Thank God the Fowlers stepped in and made a world of difference in this innocent little boy’s life.
We can only hope this story will reach someone who needs to see it and make a difference in more children’s lives.
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