A few days before she turned one, Ava took her first steps. A much-desired baby who arrived after eight years of fertility treatments, her parents, Mike and Debbie King (not their real names), called Ava their "little miracle." Careful and protective, Mike and Debbie were utterly unprepared to become targets of a child abuse investigation.
At Ava's routine one-year checkup, her pediatrician saw several faint, small bruises on Ava's chest, belly, and inner thigh. The pediatrician instructed Mike and Debbie to promptly take Ava for blood tests for bleeding disorders or liver disease. They went to the nearest emergency room the same day.
Ava's initial blood tests showed no obvious signs of a medical disorder. But given that the Kings couldn't say how Ava's bruising had occurred, an emergency department staff member decided she had to call the child protective services (CPS) hotline to report suspected child abuse.
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