A grandparents' story
Bevan and Kay will never forget the week that changed their lives forever.
They had recently become the proud grandparents of a healthy baby girl Caitlin, and were getting ready for a great retirement travelling around New Zealand in a converted bus.
Then, when Caitlin she was three months old, she was rushed to hospital with seizures. "We just thought that she was sick and would get better," says Bevan.
It wasn't until they visited the hospital to find that Caitlin had her own 24-hour security protection, that they realised something was terribly wrong.
"We were told her brain was just a white mass, her brain had been almost totally annihilated and she was 98 percent disabled," says Bevan. "Her brain had literally been shaken to bits."
Caitlin's father was charged with grievous bodily harm and assault. He is now in jail. "He discovered that if he shook her, it made her go quiet," says Bevan. "She was shaken five times."
"Never, never, never shake a baby. That's our plea, and that's the message we want to get out there."
While Bevan had children from his first marriage, Kay had never had children of her own. She went to the hospital and stayed for nine days, where she was taught her how to care for little Caitlin.
"We often say that most parents have nine months to prepare for parenthood, Kay had nine days to learn how to look after a severely disabled girl," says Bevan.
Kay and Bevan both left their jobs in order to devote themselves to caring for the little girl. Thanks to their love and care, Caitlin has defied the odds.
They were told Caitlin would not live past three months, and that she would never walk or talk, but today she is four years old. She knows six words and has just taken her first steps.
"We did everything we could to stimulate that two percent of brain. We held her and looked into her eyes and gave her love," says Kay.
Today Caitlin goes to Kindergarten, where's she a popular member of the class. "The other kids all read to her, and even though she can't speak she communicates to the other kids, and they communicate with her."
However, Caitlin will always be fed by a tube in her stomach. The shaking damaged her throat so that she cannot swallow.
"Our lives have been totally turned upside down. We were getting ready for retirement, but instead we're raising a very disabled little girl," says Bevan. "She is bubbly and happy and we love her to bits, but it's not the life she was meant to have.
"That's why we want to get the message out there. Never shake a baby. Please."
