GREENVILLE, Pa. (WKBN) – Maggie Walsh is a child who needs help, and a couple from Pennsylvania are happy to step up. It’s a relationship born out of a tough moment, but now shines as an example of love and teaching.
Maggie Walsh is 4 years old. During a recent visit to her home by Nexstar’s WKBN, she loved touching the camera — but she never talked. She’s actually never spoken a word, due to being severely shaken at 4 months old.
“It hurts my heart tremendously. She’s got a lot to say,” said Dawna Walsh.
Dawna and Dave Walsh found Maggie through foster care two months after she suffered severe brain injuries.
“We walked in the room, and the first thing was that she smiled at us, and I smiled at her, and I said, ‘We have this,'” Dave Walsh said.
The Walshes kept Maggie for two years in foster care and then adopted her two years ago. Their love is real — they proved it after watching her twelfth brain surgery.
“I turned to him and I said, ‘This is more than what we signed on for. What do you want to do?’ And he said, ‘I don’t think we should give up now.’ And I agreed,” Dawna Walsh said.
Maggie has had 17 brain surgeries. A third of her brain was severely damaged from being shaken as a baby. She walks, plays and runs like other children, but she’s still non-verbal.
“She’ll come up to us, her face, right up to her face, right to us, and wants to hug. I mean, that’s how she says she loves us,” Dave Walsh said.
The Walshes hope that speech could be in her future, but they don’t know. They do know, however, that a baby who’s teething or a fussy child is at a greater risk of being shaken, and they want parents to be aware.
“When you’re that out of control, get out of the room. The child’s going to be fine without you. If a person gets so out of control that they’re going to be that violent with the child, walk away,” Dawna Walsh said.
The Walshes suggest offering help to a struggling parent with a fussy child in public, too. They wish Maggie’s mother had more compassion instead of causing her lifelong damage, but they’re protecting her now. (Maggie’s mother served a year in prison. She can’t see her until Maggie turns 18.)
“I give my life for her,” Dawna Walsh said. “That’s our Maggie.”
May is Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Month. The Walshes hope parents realize the dangers caused by violent shaking, and instead realize the importance of safe practices.
