My story truly begins when I was 16. That was the moment I lost my mom, my closest friend, to brain cancer.
Courtesy of Fuse-Photographic
Her death shattered me. I never thought I’d smile again. But when I was 18, I met someone I believed was the love of my life. We dated, he proposed, and by 22, we were married. I was excited to start the life I had always dreamed of: marriage, kids, and the white picket fence.
Courtesy of Brad and Kelsey Bishop
I’d always wanted to be a mom. Our dream was to have three little ones before I hit 30.
Wyatt, my first, was born October 12, 2012, absolutely perfect. I was already dreaming about baby #2. But when Wyatt was four months old, everything changed. My husband suddenly stopped coming home. When I asked why, he said he was “trying to find himself.” I tried to be patient and supportive, but deep down I felt abandoned. I had followed all the “rules”, married before kids, stable home so I couldn’t understand why this was happening.
Courtesy of Des Marie Photography
I suspected he was cheating, and after someone I knew took photos of him with another woman, I confronted him. He finally admitted the affair. I filed for divorce in May 2013.
Courtesy of Brad and Kelsey Bishop
Things turned ugly. He blamed everything on me. Then, despite being absent for months, he suddenly wanted visitation with Wyatt. Something about his new girlfriend, Rachel Edwards, didn’t sit right with me. I’d heard she didn’t even have custody of her own children, and the thought of him leaving Wyatt alone with her scared me to death.
Courtesy of Des Marie Photography
I voiced my concerns to my lawyer and at our custody hearing, but since I had no proof, overnight visits were granted.
On November 1, 2013, I got a call that Wyatt was rushed to the hospital. My ex claimed his mother had been watching Wyatt—but on the way there, he confessed it was Rachel. At the hospital, they said Wyatt had a skull fracture and bleeding in his brain and they suspected it had been done on purpose.
Courtesy of Brad and Kelsey Bishop
I collapsed. Watching him lie there, unconscious and connected to all those machines, shattered me completely. Rachel had prior child abuse convictions. Had I known, I would’ve never allowed Wyatt near her. That’s why I created Wyatt’s Law to establish a public registry for convicted child abusers.
Wyatt survived after multiple brain and eye surgeries. He’s blind in one eye, developmentally delayed, and has seizures but he’s alive. He’s my miracle. His abuser served time, but not enough. I fight every day to keep her behind bars and to pass Wyatt’s Law.
Courtesy of Meagan Potter Photo & Design
Child abuse doesn’t discriminate. It happened to my son. It could happen to anyone’s. We must act before more lives are destroyed.
