Yonkers parent continues cause against shaken baby syndrome
Courtesy of The Journal News | June 12, 2006
By DESIREE GRAND | dgrand@lohud.com
YONKERS - When Darryl Gibbs lost his 8-month-old daughter, Cynthia, after she was shaken by her caregiver six years ago, he made a promise to make the brief time his child was alive worthwhile.
He continues to make good on his word.
Cynthia's Law now awaits Gov. George Pataki's signature. The bill would strengthen penalties for those who abuse babies by shaking them. It would also require the state Health Department to develop public-service announcements about the danger of shaking babies. The bill was co-sponsored by Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, and Sen. Nicholas Spano, R-Yonkers.
"I promised I would make a change. That I would fight to educate people about shaken baby syndrome," said Gibbs, a 41-year-old Yonkers resident.
The measure passed both houses of the state Legislature unanimously. The governor has not said if he intends to sign it into law, but Gibbs is confident he will.
Gibbs has been at the forefront in publicizing the dangers of shaken baby syndrome and the injuries caused when an infant or toddler is shaken hard enough to cause brain damage.
He was behind a state law enacted in 2004 that requires hospitals and birthing centers to ask new parents to watch a video on the dangers of shaking infants.
His daughter's death transformed the former New York City correction officer's life. He now works full time on the Cynthia Gibbs Foundation and as a victims advocate at the Victims Justice Center of the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.
"This is who I am now," Gibbs said.
At first, Gibbs was not sure where to turn for his cause, but he knew local lawmakers would be a start. Balancing mourning his child and starting his new quest was challenging. He and his wife, Barbara, divorced in 2003, and there were times when he felt he could not continue with the foundation.
Yet the thought of another child suffering the same fate as his daughter kept him going.
"I will not stop," Gibbs said. "I will always do this for the rest of my life."
Shaking a baby, even for a few seconds, can cause brain damage and death. As many as 1,400 cases are diagnosed nationwide every year, according to figures from the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
George Lithco of The Skipper Initiative supports the bill. His son, George Lithco III, known as "Skipper," also died in 2000 as a result of being shaken by his baby sitter.
The Poughkeepsie man works on prevention efforts, providing education to parents and caregivers. Infants are often shaken by parents or other caregivers because they won't stop crying. Lithco and his group tell people what to do when they are overwhelmed.
"I wish I could have talked to the child-care provider who shook my son and told her, 'I know one day you will be unable to deal with this child. If it gets to be too much, give me a call,' " Lithco said. "We need to keep at the message."
The Hudson Valley Shaken Baby Prevention Initiative, a network of 22 hospitals in the Lower Hudson Valley, has been providing that education.
Dr. Robin Altman, one of the initiative's directors, said before the video and other education was provided to parents starting in 2004, three cases of shaken baby syndrome were referred to Westchester hospitals a year. Not one has been referred since January 2005.
"And we have not even scratched the surface," said Altman, who also is the director of general pediatrics at the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital and New York Medical College in Valhalla. "The main thing with Cynthia's Law is that it raises the awareness of shaken baby syndrome."