Be a Hero 5K
Ok. Absolutely no one wants to think about it, let alone talk about it.
But child abuse happens, even in small communities like Marshfield. And to prevent it for the future, there needs to be increased awareness of the problem.
That’s the goal Stephanie Dischinger had in mind when she founded the Be a Hero foundation.
“The Be a Hero foundation was created to help create child abuse awareness and prevention efforts in Marshfield and surrounding communities. Be a Hero will also assist the Child Advocacy Center in creating a support group for families affected by child abuse,” she said.
This cause is extremely close to Dishchinger’s heart because her son Alex is a child abuse survivor.
“As a mother of a child abuse survivor, I struggled to find any support outside of my family and friends. Child abuse is an extremely sensitive subject. It is embarrassing to admit that you trusted your child with a monster. There are many different emotions as a parent of a victim of child abuse. Being able to sort these feelings out with a group of people that may have the same feelings would have been very beneficial to my own healing process while Alex was healing, and I know could help other families that will unfortunately be affected by child abuse in the future,” Dischinger said.
This fall the group will host the first annual Be a Hero 5K to raise funds and awareness for the cause.
The event will be held at Wildwood Park, 1800 S. Roddis Ave., on September 10, 2016. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. There will be a free kids fun run (ages 3-10) at 9:00 a.m. The 5K run/walk will begin at 9:30 a.m. There will be a raffle basket drawing post race.
You can register online at www.active.com and search Be a Hero 5K or you can register via mail by picking up a brochure at many local businesses. If you register by August 27th, an adult t-shirt is included in the registration fee of $25. Youth t-shirts and additional adult size t-shirts are available for purchase online through active.com as well. There will also be shirts for purchase at the event. For more information, visit the Facebook Page: Be a Hero 5K
Dischinger wishes she had been more aware of the possibility of child abuse and the signs of abuse. She wants others to hear her story so they can prevent it from happening in their families.
“My son, Alexander, is a survivor of Shaken Baby Syndrome, or non-accidental abusive head trauma.
On November 28 2014, I had left Alex in the care of his father while I went to work. The man that was supposed to protect him was the one that he needed protection from. When I returned from work that day, my world crashed around me as his father had told me that he spanked my 2-month-old son. And in his words, ‘it worked.’ After asking his father to leave, I was able to visualize a hand shaped bruise on Alex’s bottom. He was lethargic and fussy. I had decided to take him to the Marshfield Clinic for evaluation. Once there, the doctor felt his soft spot on his head was bulging. This is a sign of SBS. We were rushed to get a CT scan of his head, where my worst fear was confirmed.
He had bleeding on his brain. New and old blood. This means, he was abused before by his father as well. Everything started making sense now. Alex had bruising on random places on his body for the first 2 months of his life, and his father always had an excuse for them. Being a first time mom, and not thinking he would be capable of this harm, I believed him. I had his blood tested to be sure he wasn’t an easy bruiser, which he isn’t. Alexander spent a grueling week in the hospital. He had so many blood draws and radiology tests. He had to have a blood transfusion due to the bleeding on his brain. After he was able to come home, the fluid on his brain was not absorbing like it should. This means he needed to have surgery to drain that fluid and a permanent VP shunt to keep the fluid from building up. The day before his scheduled brain surgery, he was given his first haircut in the neurosurgery department. After the final test, his surgeon found that the fluid was not getting worse. It was starting to absorb on his own. Miracle.
He did not need surgery. He has been a complete miracle ever since and has been developing physically and neurologically on track. After Alex’s abuse, I started researching SBS and it quickly became clear to me that this along with other forms of child abuse are happening all too often. This is something that goes unsaid a lot because people are afraid to talk about child abuse. It is a scary subject, but God is using me as a voice for these children and I won’t stop being an advocate for them until no more children are being abused,” she said.
While her son had a very fortunate outcome, Dischinger was still inspired to create change.
“The miraculous outcome of Alex’s abuse has inspired me to do greater things for families and children that are not so lucky. The chances of him surviving without any lasting effects were less than 1%. I feel his story needs to be shared to promote awareness and help prevent these terrible acts of abuse. The money raised from the event will go toward the creation of a support group at the Marshfield Clinic’s Child Advocacy Center for families of the victims of child abuse. The CAC is extremely beneficial to families and children in need already, and this support group will boost that even more. In addition to assisting with the support group, the money raised will also go toward creating awareness and our ultimate goal – prevention,” Dischinger said.
“It takes a village to raise a child. The Be a Hero foundation is dedicated to prevention and awareness of child abuse and neglect. I think it is important to know the signs of child abuse and neglect. We, as a village, need to be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. If you do feel a child is being abused or neglected, speak up. It is better to be wrong than to be too late. Child abuse does more than affect the direct family involved. It can cause long lasting emotional and psychological damage. Children that are victims of child abuse are more likely to abuse their own children. We need to stop the cycle,” she said.
For more information about the event or cause itself, check out their Facebook page at Be a Hero 5K.
