When I came across this mother talking online, it really hit me much harder than all the football talk buzzing around. Everyone is still talking about that coach from Big Stone, but this mom has something much heavier to carry. Her child didn’t become a victim of death because the man responsible is being released from prison, and she feels like no one cares.
That name is Kristen Wilder, and it has been festering within terror for years. While people argue about somebody’s coaching record, she checks her door bolts twice while the person who harmed her daughter is walking out free.
She has said that his heart has been heavy through much of the week. I know that feeling somewhat, since once in my part of the world, someone bad was released and the neighborhood felt extremely strange for several days. My mother kept saying Never go out alone. That is the same feeling that Kristen has, but with something worse, because this fear relates to her child.
Only sixteen months old when the attack occurred, Kristen’s daughter was extremely tiny. It had to be flown by helicopter to the hospital because a strong hit with a stick had shattered it. His doctors found strokes, seizures, and long-lasting brain injuries. Today, she is 11 years old but still faces issues originating from that day.
She said she would forever remember that moment when she received a call from the court, ordering her to rush to a hospital. It’s a message that could freeze any parent. She adds she would want people to remember that, while the Internet might pay attention to some random stories, real danger is sometimes right before them but ignored.
The attacker, Christopher Allen Johnson, was handed a very long prison sentence for the injury of the child. He had been charged with malicious wounding and child abuse that resulted in serious bodily injury. Now, almost ten years later, he is ready to be freed.
Kristen has no idea where he will stay. She does not even know how close he could be to her home; this is what scares her most: not knowing. She keeps saying that she is trying to protect her kids from this “guy” and wishes the community would at least understand what she is going through.
She keeps advising other parents to be vigilant. According to her, a whole life could change in a second. You could be sitting peacefully at home, and suddenly things could change. I think she is right because once something bad happens to a child, all of it stays with the family forever.
Everyone else seems to be discussing sports and drama, but Kristen is warning the community before an additional mishap occurs. Her daughter never received the attention that she should have gotten back then. She says, and now she hopes that, finally, people pay attention.
For her, it’s not an argument on the Internet. It’s about a man who nearly took the life of her child, now stepping back into the world. And she feels like most people are looking the other way.
It is something that got me thinking. Most times, we forget that heavy things are happening with quiet people. Kristen is just asking others to care enough to spread awareness. You may also be interested in: Town Focuses On Cheer Skirts While Coach Turner Runs From Charges
