AWARENESS WEEK PUTS FOCUS ON BABY INJURIES.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SAUGUS - Three years after her 5-month-old son suffered a brain hemorrhage and broken leg while at a day-care center, Joyce Edson still breaks down in tears and is overwhelmed with guilt for placing her child with the baby sitter.

Although doctors said the boy, now 3, suffered from ``shaken baby syndrome,'' the day-care owner told sheriff's investigators she'd fallen while holding the baby, and no charges were filed.

But Edson is now trying to raise awareness about the seriousness of head injuries to babies. At her urging, U.S. Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, has introduced a bill designating the last week of April as National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week.

``The main focus of Mr. McKeon's bill is to alert parents to the fact that their babies can suffer injuries at the hands of a child-care worker,'' said McKeon spokesman David Foy. ``Sometimes the baby may have suffered shaken baby syndrome and the parents may not recognize the symptoms.''

Today, James Edson behaves like a normal 3-year-old. Alert and active, the bespectacled youngster carries a jar filled with leaves and ladybugs around the house, periodically peering into the jar and yelling, ``Buggies.''

He is one of the lucky ones. While one-third of the more than 3,000 babies in this country who suffer shaken baby syndrome each year die, an additional one-third suffer permanent physical and mental disabilities, experts say.

While shaken baby syndrome, or inflicted head trauma, is the deadliest form of child abuse, there are often no visible signs of injury associated with it, said Claudia Wang, a pediatrician at UCLA Medical Center who specializes in child abuse cases.

``Some kids come to the hospital vomiting and sleepy and get sent home when in fact they have inflicted head trauma,'' Wang said. ``In the more severe cases, the child will be having seizures, in a coma or will have stopped breathing by the time he gets to the hospital.''

Infants are more susceptible to head trauma because their heads are disproportionately large compared with the rest of their bodies, Wang said. Also, she said, there is a space between a baby's brain and skull to allow for growth and development.

When an infant is shaken, the brain rebounds against the skull causing hemorrhaging in the brain and eyes, and possible injury to the neck and spine.

By the time James Edson was admitted to the hospital, he was having seizures and vomiting. A CAT scan and X-rays determined he had a fractured skull, a broken leg and bleeding in the brain and eye, the Edsons said.

A forensic doctor later told the parents that their son's injuries suggested he had been swung like a baseball bat and his head had struck something hard, the Edsons said. Doctors also determined that the broken leg was a 2-week-old injury.

``I felt so bad later because when we changed his diaper he'd cry and we didn't know why at the time,'' said Kirk Edson, James' father. ``Then I realized it was because his leg hurt so bad.''

Adding to the family's distress, the state Department of Social Services refused to allow the parents to take their son home from the hospital until they had been cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

``Losing James never even occurred to us,'' said Kirk Edson. ``They even went so far as to tell us we needed to find a relative to take care of him.''

However, after social workers interviewed the Edsons' older son, K.J., they determined that the parents were not abusive.

The caregiver told authorities that she fell down while she was carrying the infant and later noticed that he was going into seizures, the Edsons said.

Wang said she has heard a variety of stories for how babies and toddlers came to be hurt.

``I've had cases where the parents say the child just woke up with rib fractures and bleeding in the head and eyes,'' she said. ``Others say their child rolled off the bed or sofa. But studies have shown that it requires incredible force for a child to suffer inflicted head trauma. The injuries are consistent with falling out of a second- or third-story window or being in a car accident.''

Today, the Edsons say they watch their son's behavior closely, watchful for any sign of permanent brain damage.

``We're constantly questioning his behavior and asking ourselves, Is this the start of future problems?'' said Kirk Edson.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) James Edson, a victim of shaken baby syndrome as an infant, is a healthy 3-year-old nestling in the arms of his mother, Joyce.

(2) Kirk and Joyce Edson of Saugus, with their children K.J., 6, and James, 3, are campaigning for better child safety.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News