INDIANAPOLIS -- A woman who survived being locked in a closet for the first years of her life is advocating for children who can’t speak for themselves.
Brandi was 2.5 years old when she was first taken to Riley Hospital for Children. She weighed only 13 pounds.
“The only thing I knew were that my biological parents locked me in the closet for nearly three years and that I was a Riley kid,” said Brandi.
By the time she got to Riley Hospital, Brandi’s development was already severely delayed.
“I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t crawl,” said Brandi.
Cases of abuse and neglect are more common than most people think, according to Roberta Hibbard, Director of Child Protection Programs at Riley Hospital for Children. Hibbard says the hospital evaluates 6,000 cases of child abuse each year.
Hibbard says there’s always signs of abuse, but for many people, they’re easy to miss.
“In a young infant, the one that’s often missed is any kind of bruising anywhere on an infant’s body, blood in the white of the eye or injuries in the mouth,” said Hibbard. “That can foretell many internal injuries if a child gets an appropriate medical evaluation.”
Hibbard said the number of cases continues to go up, as the drug addiction spikes across the country.
“If you look at the number of reports, (child abuse has) pretty steadily gone up,” said Hibbard.
Brandi says she’s forever grateful to the neighbor who stepped up and reported what they saw.
Hibbard and Brandi are encouraging others to do the same.
“Don’t wait. Make the report now, because you never know when too late will come,” said Hibbard.
