A teenage girl sits in a rocking chair holding a fussy infant. She rocks back and forth, and gradually the baby calms, soothed by the motion. She whispers "shhhhhh," looking up at the Winnie the Pooh prints hanging on the walls of the nursery. She rocks back and forth. The baby is quiet. Gently, the girl places the baby in her crib. She turns out the light and closes the door. Some time later, the baby begins to cry. The girl stands at the foot of the stairs, uncertain. Should I go up? she wonders. The crying stops.
Francie Webb was 14 years old in 1995 when a tragedy transformed her life. Babysitting for a family in her Virginia town, she spent a typical evening chasing their two-year-old son and caring for their 11-week-old daughter, Catherine. She put the fussy infant to sleep and tried to wrangle the active toddler toward bedtime. When the children's parents returned, Francie went home. Her family received a phone call a few hours later letting them know that Catherine had died that night.
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