A 6-week-old Nebraska girl is recovering at Children’s Hospital in Omaha after police say her mother caused life-threatening injuries, including seven broken ribs and bleeding on both sides of her brain. Twenty-year-old Kayleigh Lowe is accused of slamming the infant’s head against the floor, throwing her in the air and squeezing her ribs. Doctors now believe the baby will survive, though she has permanent brain injuries, and fluid in much of her brain is threatening her eyesight.
According to an arrest affidavit, Lowe searched “shaken baby syndrome” on Sept. 2, twelve days after giving birth. On Sept. 10, she took the infant to an emergency room but left against medical advice. The baby was taken to a Lincoln hospital and transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha on Sept. 13. The state is working to remove custody from Lowe, and the baby’s father, 20-year-old Cooper Miller of Hastings, expects word on his custody bid this week. He says her ribs are healing, her facial bruising is gone, and she is back to eating from a bottle.
Miller says his daughter is doing better than she was days ago, and he credits prayer and miracles for her survival. Doctors are expected to know more about her long-term prognosis by the end of the month. As this case moves through the courts, it raises hard questions about infant safety, parental stress, and the warning signs that too often go unnoticed until it’s too late.
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