#AbbieStrong, arrest made after young girl badly injured in May

A Dedham man has been arrested and charged with badly injuring a 2-year-old girl last month.

Following the incident, friends and family have banded together forming the #AbbieStrong movement.

TV5 spoke with Abbie's grandparents Wednesday about what the last month has been like.

"She went from a happy 2 1/2-year-old to a newborn overnight," said Crystal Davis.

Bucksport residents Dave and Crystal Davis say on the night of May 14th, their daughter called them in a panic.

"It seemed like things were fine," said Dave. "We never in one million years thought that this would've happened."

22-year-old Jason Brown was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of domestic violence aggravated assault.

"There is no way with his account of what happened, what his account is. The extent of Abbie's damages to her brain and her body itself," said Crystal. "Not only did she sustain a head injury, she also had a fractured arm."

They say Abbie was rushed to the hospital, and doctor's began to prepare them for the worse.

"She had severe brain swelling, and they had to remove the left side of her skull in emergency surgery," Crystal said. "They did not feel she was going to make it at first. They were trying to prepare us that she was extremely critical. She spent a good three weeks in PICU. She was on the ventilator for over two weeks. She's now off the vent and still does not have the left side of her skull. She started physical therapy."

They call her their miracle baby, made strong by the community that banded together around them.

"Abbie Strong is a support group that we started on Facebook for helping my granddaughter," explained Crystal.

They post updates on Abbie's progress on the page.

They've made stickers and magnets available for purchase, and friends have taken in upon themselves to hang signs and ribbons around town.

"I swear the prayers and the support we've had for Abbie are the only things that have kept her alive," she said.

As the family takes turns at the hospital watching Abbie battle her way back, it's been hard, especially as they've waited for the legal process to play out.

"Now that he's been arrested, we feel that now it's the time that everybody can know what's going on," said Crystal. "We can breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief and say that justice is finally looking good for Abbie. Abbie was in the hospital bed when we got the phone call. She was asleep, but she hasn't been sleeping at night. They've had to give her a lot of medication. She is up all night. Up and down. Last night when we got the phone call, my daughter went over to the crib, and she told her that he was arrested. And she slept for the first night from 8:30 last night until 5 o'clock this morning. The first time since the accident that she slept through the night."

To learn more you can find the Abbie Strong page on Facebook.

There is information about a Go Fund ME page there too.