Debbie's testimony

I had been a child care provider for several years and never once imagined that anything would ever go wrong but this is my story of the day my life and the lives of those I love changed forever.

It was December 15, 2000 a normal babysitting day for me until approximately 3:30 that afternoon. It was then I was catapulted into the world of false allegations of Shaken Baby Syndrome .

I was caring for a 4-month old little boy for 9 days and on the 10th day he had been to the doctor's office that morning for a " Well Baby " check and routine immunizations which consisted of the DTaP, Hibiter, Hepatitis B, Prevnar and Polio. He was dropped off by his mother at roughly 10:00 a.m. that morning. I was told by the mother there was infant Tylenol in the diaper bag if he needed it.

I had changed his diaper and fed him and placed him in the infant seat and he was pretty content. At approximately 1:00 p.m. he fell asleep and I placed him in the playpen in my daughter's room. The other children kept running through the hallway and continued to be loud and woke him up .I then moved him to my bedroom on a crib mattress on the floor so the other children would not wake him because my daughter's room only had a half door where my room had a full door and it would be quieter for him. I checked on him every 15 to 20 minutes to make sure he was okay and did not have any fever.

It was approximately 3:30 when I went to check on him and found him unresponsive and barely breathing. It was then I picked him up and took him to my husband's desk where I then called 911.

The paramedics showed up and asked where he was at. She then scooped him up and ran him to the waiting ambulance. Within a few minutes there was a knock at the door and it was the police. The detective asked if he could talk to me for a few minutes about the condition of the child that day and the 911 call. I said sure. I told him the child had been to the pediatrician that morning and given routine immunizations as well as the age of the child and any other information I could provide him with. Within a few minutes they were gone and I did not hear from them on whether or not they would be back in touch with me or not.

It was roughly 9:50 p.m. and my husband and I were getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. It was the detective with two other gentlemen and they asked if they could talk to us. I allowed them to come in and the detective asked me if I could come down to the station and give them a statement in writing. I asked him if I could come down first thing in the morning since I was ready for bed and my kids were sleeping. He said we would like to do it now that it would only take about an hour.

My husband was making a call to get someone to stay with the kids so he could go with me and the detective said it is ok you can stay here we will take your wife and bring her back this way you do not have to bother anyone. I voluntarily went to the station to give them a statement because I had nothing to hide and felt if I did not cooperate with them they would think I had something to hide.

When I arrived at the station I was taken into a room and that is when I was asked the events of the day and what led up to me calling 911. At the conclusion of that statement and after I signed it I was getting ready to go back home and I asked the detective if he knew the status of the child because I had not heard anything from the parents on how he was doing because I was concerned about him.

The detective called Children's Hospital to find out how he was and returned by telling me he was no longer in any danger of dying but did have a subdural and subarachnoid hematomas and retinal hemorrhaging. They also said he had a possible bilateral femur fractures which it turned out that he did not have any fractures. I was relieved to hear he was going to be okay but little did I know the worse was yet to come.

The juvenile detective and the other two men present who were the county homicide detectives then began to ask me more questions. During this time there was no documentation of the conversation and the questions they were asking were no longer voluntary but accusatory statements wanting to know what I did to him that a child does not just sustain these injuries from nothing at all. They even asked how I changed a diaper too. I was asked the same things over and over and kept telling them I did nothing to him. By then I did not even know what time it was and just wanted to go home I was given a paper to sign before I left and then was taken home. It turns out that the paper I signed was a second statement. I was not even aware of until I got it from my attorney. When I got home my husband asked what was going on and what they had done to me . It was after 1:30 in the morning and he said I was very emotional.

On the morning of December 16, 2000 I went to the hospital early in the morning due to the chest pains. I was having like anxiety or panic attacks. I spent several hours there before I came home with my husband under his care and was told if I got worse he was to bring me back to the hospital. We got home from the hospital and decided to lay down and take a nap because the kids were sleeping. It was around 4:00 p.m. when there was a knock at the door.When we went and answered the door there were five officers here and they told my husband sorry we have to arrest your wife.

The one county detective followed me into my bedroom when I went into get changed and get sneakers on. I then took my clothes to the bathroom because I was not changing in front of him. He stood out of the bathroom door asking me if I was ok. He even had the nerve to ask my husband why didn't you tell us your wife was like this? My husband replied to him I think you made a mistake here my wife is good with kids and she would not do something like this

I never was even read my rights nor did I see an arrest warrant although they said that they had requested one be issued in the police criminal complaint.

I was taken to the station and finger printed and photographed then taken to the judge and arraigned. Bail was set at $5,000. Once at the prison I was denied access due to lack of medical clearance. I was to be taken back to the hospital for an evaluation however the police took me back to the station and placed me in a holding cell and I was later transferred to a Inpatient facility for a psychiatric evaluation where I had to stay for 5 days beforeI could be released under the condition of the bail.

Upon my release I began to research this so called "Shaken Baby Syndrome" and found out that many times over these adverse reactions to the vaccines were being misdiagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome and that SBS is only a theory and never proven to be a truly understood entity. By reading and researching these medical journals it was clear that the experts in the field could not even agree on what SBS actually is ! Even more shocking was that I discovered many Adverse Reactions to these vaccinations were able to mimic what is thought to be SBS. Upon further researching the vaccines I was shocked to see that Tens of Thousands of Children are damaged and even killed by vaccines. I had always thought vaccines were safe.

I found that the ingredients in vaccines were nothing more than a witches brew of animal blood, toxic metals, neurotoxins, viruses, bacteria, and even pesticides ! Yes Pesticides! Thimerosal is a common ingredient in many vaccines is a registered pesticide with the (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency. Thimerosal is nearly 50% mercury as well and that a routine "Well-Baby-Visit" can see a child get injected with up to 62.5 mcgs of Mercury ! The EPA guidelines for acceptable Mercury exposure are 0.1 mcgs. of mercury per kilogram of body weight per day. The child in my case was given over 40 times the "safe" amount in a matter of minutes- directly into his bloodstream and shortly before he was dropped off at my home.

As well this child had an indication of a possible neurological condition as his head size was abnormally large. The Physicians Desk Reference clearly states " that any child with an underlying neurological condition SHOULD NOT BE VACCINATED."

Vaccines carry serious and sometimes fatal consequences and people need to know this so they can truly make an informed choice. They also need to know what to do to avoid legal pitfalls in choosing what gets put into their bodies or their children's body .

I was left no choice but to take a plea agreement of "No Contest" to 2 years probation as I could have faced up to 15 years in prison in the aforementioned case. I chose not to risk what a jury would decide as most people ( like myself at one time) believed vaccines were safe. I chose to secure that my children would grow up with their mother. I have picked up the pieces and moved on but this will always be with me no matter what. I continue to maintain my innocence and plan to make a difference by raising awareness and helping others in similar straits. The system needs help and parents/caretakers need to be informed. In my case I believe this child was damaged by vaccines, and so did some doctors. We also found out after the fact that he did indeed have an underlying problem that pre-dated my contact with him. If you would like to know more about my case you can contact me at the following e-mail address: debbiehaven@msn.com  

Sincerely, Debbie Grater