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Family Talks Openly After Facing Child Abuse

April Is Child Abuse Awareness Month

POSTED: 1:10 pm MDT April 1, 2009
UPDATED: 11:15 am MDT April 2, 2009

Child abuse is an uncomfortable subject most people don't like to talk about, but the Woodward family hopes to change that.

"I coached Little League for years ... 20 years. I've seen broken bones, bad sprains, but never seen anything that looked liked this. It was black, blue, green, and purple. Hot to the touch and swollen to the point where it was just tight," said Dennis Woodward, about the injuries to his then 1-year-old granddaughter, Morgan.

"Three and a half years later, still that's inconceivable to me," said Patricia Woodward, Morgan's grandmother.

The Woodwards said Morgan had about a dozen broken bones. A family friend has since pleaded guilty to child abuse and is currently behind bars for the crime.

But the images of Morgan covered in casts have not been forgotten. It's taken some time for Morgan to trust and love again. The Woodwards are taking care of the nearly 4-year-old girl while her mother is in a halfway house.

"Morgan's mom was not the abuser. The failure here was to recognize her child was in danger and not get the medical help she needed," said Patricia Woodward.

The Woodwards said there were no obvious signs of abuse until that day when they were asked to babysit Morgan.

After the discovery of the abuse, the family has received support and help from the Kempe Foundation, which focuses on prevention and treatment of child abuse.

"The resources are out there. You just need to use them," said Dennis Woodward.

"We need to talk about it, not do it behind closed doors, because this transcends to all walks of life," said Patricia Woodward.

For more information on the Kempe Foundation, go to kempe.org.
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