SPARTA, Mich. (Feb. 11, 2014) — Doctors believed that baby Jaxon Steiger might never crawl due to the serious nature of fractures and broken bone he suffered at the hands of his father in June 2013.
Jaxon is now eight months old and, to the joy of his mother and family, he is now crawling.
Doctors have told Chelsi Knop, Jaxon’s mom, that he should be completely healed when he turns about a year old.
“I was completely blown away,” said Knop, Jaxon’s mom. “I never thought that just seven months from everything happening I would be literally chasing him around. When you get some news like that, you think the worst, and to have the best news come out of it, it’s absolutely amazing. He is the strongest person I know. He is a fighter, he does not let anything stand in his way.”
So, after a tough start to life, little Jaxon is showing people that you can overcome the odds with a bit of determination, and his mom wants everyone to know that he is now a happy, healthy baby boy.
“I wanted a chance to share the truth and show how amazing Jaxon is doing and how happy we are and how much we love each other and how love can conquer anything,” said Knop.
David Steiger was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years after his three-week-old son was found with around 20 broken bones in late June of 2013.
In July, Steiger talked to FOX 17 while he was awaiting court dates on the abuse charges.
He said at that time that the injuries to his son were due to an accident.
“I wish that I could take everything back,” said Steiger. “If I was responsible, I didn’t mean it. When you change his diaper, he crosses his legs up and I was kind of pushing down his legs down to put his diaper on and I thought it was like me popping my finger. But, I guess it wasn’t. His leg just popped.”
Knop said that she feels that her now ex-husband didn’t tell her what truly happened.
“To this day I still don’t know and honestly I’m not sure I want to know exactly what happened,” said Knop. “To get the injuries Jaxon had, it had to be some severe physical force.”
Knop said she divorced Steiger after the broken bones were discovered on her son.
Even more agonizing for the young mom, until detectives completed their investigation and determined that David Steiger was the only person responsible, Knop was prohibited from seeing her son except for limited visits at the hospital. It was around a six week period, but it felt like six years, she said.
“Just three weeks prior, I got the most precious gift in the world, and then just like that it was taken away from me,” said Knop. “It was down right horrible.”
Steiger admitted early on in the investigation that Knop was not responsible for the injuries.
To keep close to her son, Knop made a build-a-bear for Jaxon while he was in the hospital.
She recorded her voice singing, “You are My Sunshine” on a mini-recorder and placed it in the bear. Jaxon could squeeze the bear to hear her voice long after the visits were over. “I wasn’t able to be with him at the time as much as I wanted,” said Knop. “So, I wanted him to always have my voice and always be able to hear me.”
“I didn’t want him to feel like I left him because it wasn’t my choice. If I had it my way, I never would have left his bedside.”
Jaxon’s been doing so well that while he has regular checkups with his family doctor, Knop said, he hasn’t had to go to his orthopedic doctor since last fall.
She said his next scheduled checkup with his orthopedic doctor is scheduled for the end of February.
“My sincerest thanks to all those who supported Jaxon and I along this journey,” said Knop. She says she feels much gratitude “towards the Sparta Police Department, CPS, DHS, and my friends and family. Without the combined efforts, the past seven months would have been unbearable. The love and support we have received has been priceless.”
