When your maternity leave is over and it’s time to find a suitable childcare provider, it can be an emotional time as you try and find the right place.
It’s always a great worry leaving your baby with someone you don’t know but you put your trust in the fact they have done it before and your child will be safe with a professional.
Ashleigh Garcia thought she had found the right place for her 4-month-old boy Kingston Gilbert but on January 31 she experienced a nightmare no parent should have to endure.
When emergency services were called to reports of a baby throwing up at a daycare on January 31, they found baby Kingston.
Later authorities said that the woman, who was supposed to be caring for him, Paige Hatfield, had beaten the boy so badly he had started to vomit.
According to Fox4kc.com Kingston had been placed with an unlicensed daycare owner in Olathe, Kansas, and had only been in her care for 11 days when he was rushed to hospital.
‘Grieve the loss of our child’
His injuries were so severe he was left blind and permanently changed.
“We spent 18 days in the I.C.U. just praying that he got through,” Kingston’s mom Ashleigh Garcia said. “We were told by doctors he is never going to be the same boy. I mean, we pretty much had to grieve the loss of our child and accept that the baby that we were bringing home was not the baby that I dropped off at daycare that day.”
Two years later, Kingston’s mother said her son has never fully recovered from his traumatic attack and most likely never will.
Paige Hatfield, 27, was found guilty on charges of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, a felony, and operating an unlicensed daycare, a misdemeanor. She is due to be sentenced in March, according to Fox 31.
Find out more about this horrific case in the video below.
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhcdw9P9wSA” /]
No child should ever have to go through such trauma. We hope Kingston grows up to be healthy and strong and continue to live life to the fullest, with the love and support of his family around him. Please share.
