Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20

<= IMG=20 height=3D116=20 = src=3D"http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/content/img/f234402/SZ200_1_22Kai.j= pg"=20 width=3D200 border=3D0>

After a devastating and near fatal = assault last=20 May, 2-year-old Kai Edmunds is on the road to recovery. A benefit = called=20 the Musical Worshipfest will be held to help his family and raise=20 awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome and domestic violence on Jan. 25 = and 26=20 at Calvary Chapel in Pine Grove.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
It was a nightmare - an unreal = image=20 that's haunted the community for the better part of seven months. Few = can dare=20 to picture what actually happened on that evening last May, when a tiny, = tender=20 infant was attacked by a grown man he'd been left in the care of, = viciously=20 shaken almost to death before having his head driven into a=20 wall.

Residents were crippled with disbelief. Some of Amador's = most=20 hardened law enforcement officers were left numb. Photographs of the=20 19-month-old baby in the hospital said it all - his head swaddled in = gauze, his=20 lungs locked with a ventilator, his miniature lips parted by a feeding = tube.=20 When he'd arrived at the emergency room, the odds were against him. He = was=20 unconscious. His skull was fractured. There was fluid on his brain. Yet = little=20 Kai Edmunds had more strength than perhaps anyone realized.

Now = 2, Kai=20 has slowly been battling back since his brain surgery. His mother, = Gabrielle=20 Richardson, said her son is still going through treatment at University = of=20 California, Davis, roughly eight hours a week. "At this point, = everything is=20 therapy for him," Richardson said. "He's in occupational therapy, = physical=20 therapy and speech therapy. He's also in a therapy playgroup with other=20 children, which I think has really been good for him."

Kai's = progress is=20 visible in his healthy smile and the energy he shows as a toddler. Yet = Kai has=20 serious challenges ahead. At the moment he appears to have lost the use = of his=20 right arm and his right hand. He has a permanent loss of sight in his = right=20 vision field as well. Overall, his gross motor functions are still = affected by=20 the damage to his head - meaning his ability to walk normally is a work = in=20 progress. He was recently fit for a new leg-brace that has a hinge at = the ankle.=20

Richardson said her son is a happy and extremely social child = these=20 days, though brain trauma has caused lingering episodes of anxiety. He = also has=20 trouble focusing. In terms of his recovery, the troubling fact is that = certain=20 challenges ahead remain unknown. "There is no prognosis," Richardson = said.=20 "Every brain injury is different. You generally find out a lot in the = first six=20 months to a year of recovery. But the doctors just can't say for sure = what will=20 happened with certain things he's facing."

None of this takes = away from=20 how proud Kai's family is in the incredible strides he's made. His = mother and=20 grandparents were recently able to brag about his first meeting with = Santa=20 Claus, in which he was the only child present who wasn't scared and = eagerly went=20 right up to sit on Santa's lap. According to everyone who knows Kai, his = bravery=20 has never been in question.

A benefit called Musical Worshipfest = will be=20 held Jan. 25 and 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Calvary Chapel of Amador in Pine = Grove=20 for the purpose of aiding Kai's recovery. Carol Harper, a member of = Calvary=20 Chapel and the event coordinator, hopes that everyone will feel welcome = to show=20 up. "We're asking that the community and churches come together to = support Kai,"=20 Harper said in a statement, "regardless of your denomination, religious = or=20 spiritual persuasions, or whether you even go church or not. This is not = about=20 religion. This is about coming together in a spirit of love and giving = for a=20 little boy and his mother.

The fund-raiser is also stressing = awareness=20 and prevention to stop assaults like the one committed against Kai. The = event=20 will feature a presentation from Operation Care in conjunction with the = Amador=20 County Child Abuse Prevention Council. Each group hopes the public will = educate=20 themselves about Shaken Baby Syndrome and the general warning signs of = domestic=20 violence. Statistics suggest that between 15 and 30 percent of = children's deaths=20 are caused by battering or shaking.

Like Kai, some 17 percent of = all=20 cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome are perpetrated by a non-relative. More=20 specifically, an equal 17 percent of victims of SBS are assaulted by a = mother's=20 boyfriend - just as Kai was.

Robin Valencia, who will give the=20 prevention on SBS for the Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council, said = that for=20 every documented case like Kai's, there are an estimated 150 = undocumented cases=20 in any given area such as Amador. "A case like Kai Edmunds' can't go = unnoticed=20 because of how extreme his injuries were," she pointed out. "But there = are=20 probably many cases going on where a parent or care-giver many not = realize that=20 shaking a child, even for a few seconds, can jeopardize its life." =

In=20 the aftermath of her son's survival - and the fury over a short = nine-year prison=20 sentence for Neil Farkas, the man who nearly killed Kai, Richardson has=20 dedicated herself to a new mission of child advocacy. "I think it's = amazing what=20 this upcoming event could do in terms of awareness of child abuse," she = said.=20 "We need to get the message out about what leads to things like this = happening."=20 Richardson added, "Kai will be at the benefit. So many people have = helped us,=20 and are still helping us. This will given them a chance to meet Kai in = person.=20 As far as what this community has done, we can never express our = gratitude=20 enough."

For George Stathos, the pastor of Calvary Chapel, being = there=20 for someone like Kai is the whole purpose of a community. "It's an honor = for us=20 to host the event," said Stathos. "It's certainly a worthy cause. We = know many=20 people in the community want to help, and we're thrilled to be part of = that. The=20 most important thing is to try to bring comfort to this family. They're = in a=20 serious struggle. We want them to know they're not alone."

For = more=20 information on Kai, visit www.babybluesforkai.com.

Scott Thomas = Anderson