Do reporters cry?

It’s been over a year since I've posted here, thanks in part to having a baby, but now it’s time to again start sharing the behind the scenes stories of being a reporter in the field. Maybe it’s because I have heard a lot of discussion about journalists not expressing their feelings in their work lately or maybe it’s because this last week has been very emotional, but I think the viewing public should feel to an extent what a reporter goes through in the field when they are covering a story.

Over the last week I have reported on every little detail of the Powell tragedy. Last Sunday my husband and I were on our way to his parents’ house to watch the Superbowl when I received a breaking news text alert from KSL Newsradio, it read:

Explosion at the Josh Powell home in WA.

The bodies of 2 children found inside.
No other info yet. Update on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM & 1160 AM.

You can imagine what went through my head at that moment. It went something like this;

WHAT!!!

At that moment reporter Shara kicked in. We arrived at my in-laws and I immediately ran inside to turn on the breaking coverage. It was true, the worst crime I have ever seen committed was appearing in front of me on a television screen. Josh Powell had killed his two innocent boys, Charlie and Braden.

I immediately began searching for pictures of the scene to send to KSL.COM, our website had only a few lines about it and a stock photo so I turned to twitter to see what I could find. Within minutes I found a neighbor of Josh Powell’s who took photos of the burning home, I sent those to the web, I then found whatever information was out there from people witnessing the tragic event and began reporting it. Little did I know the details would get horrifying.

As my family continued to watch the football game, I locked myself in the den and worked as fast as I could. I sent an email to by boss saying I was ready to fly to Washington to cover the story. The story involving Josh Powell and his missing wife Susan is one I have covered for 2 years now. I have done dozens of stories and have a invested interest in their case. After what seemed like an hour of no communication from the mother ship I finally got word that another reporter was being sent to Washington. I was relieved that we had a crew on the way.

A few hours later I got a call. “Shara, were sending you to Washington in the morning”, said my boss. My response with no hesitation was “ok, I’m ready to go.” I hung up the phone, looked at my husband and said “I’m headed to Washington.” I have a 14 month old son, and had full confidence in my husband’s parenting skills. It was a little last minute, but I knew he could manage.

That night I packed. I was told to prepare to be in Washington for a while, and to take enough. The next morning I was up at 1:00am, headed to KSL Broadcast house ready to take on the story.

That morning I reported the latest on the situation from SLC then boarded a flight with a photographer to Tacoma. By 11:30am we are on the ground, in a rental car with all of our gear, and headed to Puyallup and the scene of one of this country’s most sickening crime scenes. I felt prepared. I was not.

When we arrived at the house there were about a dozen massive satellite trucks lining the street, there were about two dozen news vehicles. This was huge. We found a parking spot and I jumped out and made my way down to the cul-de-sac where the burned rubble of Josh Powell’s home remained. Dozens of cameras were setting up for a press briefing form a spokesperson from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. I then realized I was working with the big boys. CNN was to my right, NBC was to my left, every other major network plus more surrounded me.

For the next hour I gathered interviews with neighbors, got a feel for the layout of the day, then prepared for the briefing. When it finally happened – that’s when the horrifying details of this case began to unfold.

I sat on the cold asphalt in front of a dozen cameras and listened to Ed Troyer from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office recite the details of the murder. Stunned at what he was saying, I kept a list of facts on my paper. When he was finished I quickly ran back to our SAT truck and began feverishly writing my story. 30 minutes later I was on air and folks in Utah were hearing the latest details.

Josh Powell set his house on fire with his two sons inside still alive. He used 10 gallons of gas as an accelerate. He locked the social worker out of the home and she called 911. The house exploded.

Facts.

The rest of the evening shows played out in a similar fashion, there was very little time to process what I was looking at. Then I had a second to breathe. It was about 7pm when I looked around me and noticed there were people showing up with flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, and cards-each item for Charlie and Braden. Then the emotion of it hit. Two innocent little boys were murdered by their father. Two little boys were murdered by their father in this burned debris I am looking at. Two little boys faced the most horrifying moments in their life in this burned home in front of me. Two little boys suffered at the hands of the person who should have protected them from harm.

I noticed a father with two little boys staring at the house, his son’s carried stuffed animals. I approached them and learned that the boys are the same age as Braden and Charlie, 4 and 7. They had come to give their own stuffed animals to them. I asked one little boy, John what he brought and he told me “I brought a penguin because I know one of the boys liked penguins, I bought this Chucky Cheese because I know he like Chucky Cheese.”

The father of these two little boys in front of me, Douglas told me he was a single dad and didn’t know the Powell family but had been crushed by the actions of Josh Powell and because his sons were the same age wanted to start a memorial at the home for them. Douglas started to cry as I was interviewing him. At one point his son looked up at him and said “Dad, why are you crying?” He responded with “I am just sad for the two little boys that died.”

I followed them to the driveway and watched as the boys placed the stuffed animals next to the house and then stand there in silence looking at the burned shell of a house.

I spoke to another woman that night, Sandi Frazier. Sandi was standing alone holding a bouquet of Angels Parasols. She had tears in her eyes. Her daughter went to school with Susan, the missing mother of the two boys. Sandi told me she felt she needed to bring the flowers because the boys are now angles, and she wanted something living at the spot where they died. Sandi he began to cry as I was interviewing her, and I did too. I thanked her for her sincere words and she asked if she could hug me. Without hesitation I hugged her there in the dark, next to the rubble, and she cried in my arms. She told me she was sorry for breaking down but thanked me for allowing her that moment.

I continued working into the night, gathering more reaction from strangers who had come to see the house. I took a moment to get my emotions in check, and pressed on. But then the medical examiner report was released and the story hit a new low. Charlie and Braden had been attacked by their father with a hatchet, a small axe. They had been “chopped”, was the word the medical report stated, in the head and neck. But when the two boys didn’t die, moments later their dad set the house on fire.

When I heard these details all I could think was ….Oh no, oh God no.

Just went I thought this story couldn’t get worse, these details come out. The evil in this story was beyond comprehension. I couldn’t believe it. I was angry.

That night in my hotel I continued to work putting together the story of a community mourning and finally around 10pm I finished one of my stories for the next morning, I wrote half a dozen emails, called my husband to check on him and the baby, then headed to bed.

I tried to put the images of Charlie and Braden in their last moments out of my head but couldn’t.

TUESDAY:

At 1:00AM the alarm went off. I had only 2 hours of sleep but was up at my computer putting together another story with the latest developments. I was coordinating with my producers back in SLC about our live shots that morning and then sent them my voice track for the second pkg.

Around 3:15AM our crew made its way over to the house, this time we went to the back of the house to get a better view. When we got there we found another memorial to Charlie and Braden. During my live shot I talked about the memorial, then during my last live hit I read a message someone had left the boys. I didn’t expect to get choked up, but I did. The message read “we find peace in knowing you are now being swaddled in your mother’s arms.” I quickly composed myself and continued on with the story, cleared from the live shot, and got in the car. I have never had a moment like that on live television before. Something about those words hit me to the core. I let a few tears fall then tried to focus on being a professional reporter. Reporters don’t cry, or do they?

That morning Chuck Cox appeared on the Today Show, it was 6:30 am local time but I knew he had to be up to do the interview so I called him. Chuck Cox is the grandfather of Charlie and Braden, the father of their mother Susan. He and his wife Judy had temporary custody of the two boys while Josh was being evaluated. Anyway, I called him and he answered. My photographer and I were down the street from his house in case he agreed to do the interview and so we arrived at his house within a few minutes. As I approached his door there were roses and a card on his porch, I picked it up and handed it to the woman who answered the door – it was Susan’s sister.

We set up in Charlie and Braden’s room and a few minutes later Chuck was sitting on one of their beds. We talked about a lot of things- Josh, Susan, and about hearing the horrifying details of what happened to Charlie and Braden. You could tell Chuck was in shock.

It was an emotional interview and when he began to cry about what happened to Charlie and Braden I couldn’t help but get chocked up as well. You could see the pain in his eyes, his face, and his body language. You could see the pain all over him. No person should ever have to go through what the Cox family has gone through.

After our interview I thanked Chuck for his time, he has always been so nice to me about Susan’s case and in the heartbreak of this development he was just as gracious. I couldn’t help but think he reminded me of many grandfathers in Utah, many people I know. My heart broke for him and his wife, Judy.

After the interview we rushed back to our SAT truck. As I began logging the video, tweeting the details, and composing my story I got a call from the Doug Wright Show. I often work with Doug Wright on his show – reporting from the field – talking about the details of a case – and so it was no surprise he wanted to talk to me about my interview with Chuck. So at 8:30 local time when his producer called me I was ready to talk.

Doug asked me about several things – which I gave appropriate responses to. But then he asked me a personal question. He said, Shara…you are there taking all of this in, seeing all of this devastation and heartbreak, what has hit you the hardest? Immediately thought of the words on the poster and started to cry. I apologized to Doug and his hundreds of thousands of listeners for my emotions, and told him about the poster. I told him that I was a mother of a 14 month old boy at home and couldn’t imagine the pain the Cox family was feeling. I told him of the people sobbing on the street staring at the house and the pain I was feeling for them. I struggled to get the words out and again apologized. Doug responded with “don’t you dare apologize, this is real, you are a real person out there too and people need to understand just how heartbreaking this is for even the reporters out there.” It made me feel better. I finished the interview up and hung up the phone and sat in disbelief. Did that just happen, did I just break-down on the Doug Wright Show? Yep, I did.

I pushed through the noon show- aired my interview with Chuck Cox, and then started on the next story. I worked my contacts until I finally got an interview set up with West Valley’s Police Chief. It was something my station wanted and so we did a sit down with him.

That story aired at 5, and then we were off to another story. Josh Powell’s storage unit was being searched and we needed to find it. We ran around the city with about a half dozen other reporters for about 2 hours looking for it but never found it. By the time we were done it was 7pm and we needed to eat – we haven’t really eaten anything in 2 days. So we stopped by a restaurant and I went in to order. As I was waiting I sat on a couch and let the past two days sink in. I couldn’t help but let a few tears fall.

We headed back to the hotel, ate, emailed, and finally got to bed around 9pm.

The next morning I woke up at 1am – wrote 2 new packages and then packed up and headed over to the house. We did 3 live shots and then broke down our gear. We headed back to the hotel, packed our rooms up and headed to the airport.

Exhausted, we boarded a plane and headed home.

I started writing this post on the plane ride home – tears falling through most of it. I am sure the guy sitting next to me on the plane thought I was nuts. For a moment I did too. Why was this story so emotional for me? Was it because I have a son and now feel pain I didn’t before? Was it because of the horrifying things Josh Powell did? Was it because two little boys are now in heaven with their mother? Was it because I spent 2 years on this case and this is how it ended? Yes, yes, yes. Yes to all of it.

There are so many reasons why it is emotional, and I am just going to say that I am human and I feel things too. When people are at home watching our stories saying “oh my gosh, how could that happen?”… I am in the field saying it too. I just hide it when I have to, when the camera is on. But the truth is it hurts, it hurts to know there are people in this world that could do something like this. It hurts that I have to tell you they exists.

So back to my question –do reporters cry? The answer is yes, we do.

What do you say?

As a reporter, you often report about stories that have a tragic ending. That is one of the reasons it is considered a story. Well, yesterday I was covering a fatal car crash on South Temple in Salt Lake City. I had been on the crash scene all morning, and so it had become familiar in a way where, like most people who just stand and stare, I don't. I just do my job. Well it turns out the driver responsible for the crash was driving under the influence when he ran a red light and t-boned a car coming through the intersection, killing the 25-year-old driver of the other car, and sending the 29-year-old passenger to the hospital with life threatening injuries. While I felt the story was sad and tragic, it did not really hit me until later that day right as I was about to go live.

I was standing next to the intersection about 5 minutes to the top of the noon show when I noticed this small family, a mom, dad, daughter, and friend, walk towards the intersection. By then, everything had been cleaned up and all that remained on scene were a few marks on the road where the cars had it. Also, sand on the road, where the clean up crews removed blood and oil from the road. Anyway, while I was standing there I watched this family as they approached. They were calm, and appeared to be talking about the crash. While watching them, I suddenly got a sick feeling. This was the family of the victim, I just had a feeling. The father and daughter walked up to the side of the road, about 3 feet from where I was standing and just stood there. I couldn't do anything, because I was live in 30 seconds. Then the anchors tossed to me, and I started in on my script. As I did that, the father stood next to our camera watching me, listening. I described what happened, and the man that was killed. I then talked about the other people involved and their injuries. I finished with the fact that the driver walked away from the crash, and is now possibly going to face a felony DUI charge for the death of the other driver. As soon as I tossed it back to the anchors, the father took a step towards me and said that the driver that was killed was his son. When I looked up, I could see tears coming down his cheeks from behind his sun glasses. My stomach hit the floor. I told him how sorry I was for his loss and asked if there was anything I could tell him about the crash. He then told me, he learned more from standing there watching me in give my live report than he knew before that moment. He didn't know anything other than his son was killed in a car accident.

After talking to the family for a few minutes, giving my condolences for their loss, I left. I didn't bug them for information, I didn't ask about his history, I just left. It was one of those moments where I know the family needed to be alone with their thoughts. One thing the mother said to me, was that they didn't know what to do next. I told her, that feeling is what I see a lot of people go though when they are put in this position. What do you say?

In reporting we see a lot of tragic stuff. But we rarely see the family of the person who just died, and so soon after it happens. I can honestly say it changed how I feel about reporting stories like this. Before this story, it was facts, here's what happened. Now, because I had this family who had just lost their son, watch me as I was telling his story, I will keep in mind that the people who are grieving, are probably watching. I will ask myself, if they were standing next to me, would I change the way I say this or that.


3/23/10 KSL.COM
By Shara Park:

SALT LAKE CITY -- One man is dead and four others injured after a car crash on South Temple Tuesday morning. Police say they now think alcohol was involved. Police believe the 26-year-old driver of a black Honda Passport was driving under the influence when his car smashed into a silver Volkswagen Passat, killing the driver, 25-year-old Michael Peterson of Sandy.

Police say they believe the driver of the black Honda ran a red light at the intersection of E Street and South Temple where the crash occurred around 1:45 a.m. They say the silver Volkswagen was turning east and was struck on the driver side door, just as it had entered the middle of the intersection.

"There were witnesses eastbound [on South Temple] at the intersection right there that were stopped at a red light," said Sgt. Dennis McGowan of the Salt Lake City Police Department. "That's one of the reasons we're presuming the light was green for the VW and red for the Honda."

The crash was so violent that investigators initially had a tough time figuring out which directions the two vehicles were going. Police say when the SUV struck the car, Peterson was killed on impact. His 29-year-old passenger was transported to the hospital with major injuries to his chest, spine and pelvis. The two passengers in the black Honda were also transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Both of them had back injuries and one had a broken leg. The driver of the black Honda originally walked away from the crash, but was later transported to the hospital with internal injuries.

Lt. Brian Purvis said, "Both of the vehicles have suffered severe damage, but none of the occupants had to be extricated. They've all been transported to the hospital."

Police say they're now screening charges against the driver of the Passport with the city prosecutor. They say it's possible he could be charged with a felony DUI.

March 8-12, 2010

This has been a week of crazy stories.

March 8th, 2010:
This story made me so mad. When I got to work, I was told about this woman who shook a baby with such force that doctors thought she might be blind. On this day I got to go see Kami Tollefson in person as she sat before a judge. When she walked into the court room she was hiding behind her family, but then I sat behind her and I know it made her uncomfortable. Tollefson is facing 3 felony counts of child abuse, for abusing not only the child who almost went blind, but 2 others under the age of 2. One had a broken pelvis, another was strangled.

Left: The baby girl who suffered shaken baby syndrome and almost went blind.

Right: Kami Tollefson (in white) headed into court.




March 9th, 2010:

Josh Powell and his alleged trip to a strip club the day his wife disappeared. For 3 months now I have covered every angle of this story. From the day 28-year-old Susan Powell went missing, to all of the searches, services projects, and vigils in between. After 3 months and still no sign of Susan it seemed like the story was starting to fall asleep. Police had named Josh Powell the only person of interest in her disappearance, but the guy is so weird and quiet, police have not been able to pin anything on him. All he is saying at this point is that he took his 2 young boys camping at midnight in a snow storm the night his wife suddenly vanished (yeah right). Anyway, back to Monday. So my buddy Andrew Adams broke a story about several people in the Duces Wild strip club who reported to police that they saw Josh Powell in their club the day his wife disappeared, when he was supposedly supposed to be camping. I then had the awesome job of going to police about their claims. Police said they did follow up on the reports, but because there were no pictures, eyewitness accounts couldn't be trusted. So, once again, nothing on Josh Powell.

March 10th: WVC Murder
On Wednesday during the morning show we notice that one of the other stations had a breaking news story about a suspicious death in West Valley City. So after my last live hit, I jump in a photographers car and we head out there. When we get to the scene, there is one cop car, and crime tape around the stair case of the building. That's it. So at first I start talking to neighbors and no one knows what happened. They all saw police at the apartment complex the night before, but no one really knew why. So as I am sitting in the truck waiting for police to call me back a guy taps on my window. He's a little scary looking, but nice too. So I roll down my window and he tells me he is the uncle of the man who killed the woman in the apartment. My jaw dropped. I said excuse me? He then proceeded to tell me that his nephew had called the day before and said he had killed her. So the uncle went to the apartment to check on her, and when she didn't answer, he called police. They later entered the apartment and found her beaten to death. Anyway, not wanting to scare this guy away, I ask him if he would tell me all of this on camera. He says yes. SCORE! I then jump out and for the next 15 minutes he tells me all about this guy, his criminal history, his violent past, and about the woman he just killed. I couldn't have asked for a better interview. This guy was nice, and composed, yet rough. He himself was an ex-con and was trying to get his life back together.

Amway, I touched base with police and they confirmed everything the murder suspects uncle told me. They also informed me that they had arrested the nephew on homicide. I was the first to know, so I got to break the news. Got to love that!

March 11, 2010:
Midvale Police and Joint Criminal Apprehension Team officers arrest a wanted fugitive.
He had slipped though their fingers once, but this time they got him. he was wanted for burglary.
March 12, 2010:
TRAX Train crushes a car, killing 2 people and critically injuring 2 others. This story was so sad to report. The 21-year-old driver of the vehicle made the decision to drive around the crossing arm while it was down warning that a train was coming. As soon as he got onto the tracks, the train came at 55mph and t-boned the car. The driver was instantly killed, the 18-year-old passenger behind him was killed, and 2 others on the right side of the car were critically injured. The female passenger almost didn't make it, but somehow survived. What's even more sad, is that these young adults were all strangers to each other. They were in SLC for a training conference with KFC. They were training to be shift managers at their local stores. They were going from one KFC to another to observe how the shifts were run. Now, because of one bad decision, the lives of these 4 people are changed forever, their families are now grieving, their friends, and fellow employees are devastated, and for what? To save 30 seconds. No matter how you look at it, it is just sad.

I also got an email from a man in Georgia about this story. He told me he was going to use it for his youth group. I thought about it, and I see the bigger message with it now. How many times in our lives do we ignore the warning signs, the flashing lights, or the horn telling us to stop. Everyday people are faced with choices, and how many look for these signs.

Exploding Home

You don't hear about homes exploding very often, but it happens. In the last 6 months there have been two in Utah. At 3:20 this morning I got a call that a home had exploded in Pleasant Grove. It had happened the night before and was breaking news in the 10 p.m. show. That meant that my day would consist of being at the explosion site talking to neighbors, investigators, and business owners in the area who felt the blast. Now at 3:20 a.m. I am already walking out the door, so no big deal, except the fact that I had to get into the station, which is 30 minutes away, then get back on the road in 30 minutes after writing 2 weak versions of the story, and then drive 45 minutes to make it to the location in order to make the first live hit at 5:30. We almost did it! However, we hit a snag. When we got to the property, we were met by a nice police officer who did not want us there. We ended up having to park the live truck about 100 yards away and run cable to the debris. By the time we did that, the anchors had read my story. Then comes the 6 a.m. hit, all is well. 6:30, live shot dies. The signal gets lost. 6:50 a.m. It's like I never existed. No live shot, no signal. Grrr! All that rush for nothing. Well, we stayed at the site the rest of the morning gathering our story for the noon show, we talked to people who felt the blast, had their homes damaged, and were even evacuated. The one thing they all said, which I thought was cool, was that they didn't care about the damage to their property, they were just glad no one got hurt. I will echo that comment. It is a miracle no one was hurt or even killed in this explosion. The house literally blew up.

Investigators told me that the cause was a natural gas leak and that the furnace blew up.

The debris went about 100 yards in each direction, including up.

This neighbor lives about 60 yards away. 7 windows on his house were shattered. 5 seconds before it happened he was standing at the window on the left. He had just closed the shutters, sat down at his computer, and then boom! He said he was covered in glass. He also told me he is in the army and that the explosion brought back all kinds of bad memories.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

PLEASANT GROVE -- Fire officials are investigating the cause of an explosion that destroyed a Pleasant Grove house, broke neighbors' windows and prompted the evacuation of several nearby homes.

No one was in the house, and no injuries have been reported. Pleasant Grove Marshal Chief Steven Brande said late Thursday the house was vacant and a search and rescue team found no one in the rubble. But the explosion, which could be heard and felt for miles, did cause a lot of damage.

Witnesses reported the smell of natural gas after the blast a little before 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the home at 385 E. 100 South.

Some neighbors said the blast felt like a car hitting their house.

"The whole house shook," said Kevin Lindstrom. "Everything fell off the walls. I thought someone ran into my house with their car being on First East. (I) came outside and you could hear gas just pouring out everywhere."

The scene has stirred up quite a reaction from residents in the area. Many have stopped by Friday morning to see the damage after feeling Thursday night's explosion. Neighbor Daryl Peterson, who lives about 60 yards from the house, said he had seven windows shattered.

"It was literally a foot behind me where one of the big windows blew in and got glass on me," he said. "I was just glad I wasn't at the window when it happened."

Investigators have been on scene all morning trying to determine what caused the explosion. They say they believe it was a natural gas leak because of the way the debris pattern follows the openings in the house. They pinpointed it to an old furnace that was buried deep in debris in a crawl space near the back of the house.

Overall, the explosion caused damaged to at least five buildings. It also blew debris about 100 yards from the house in each direction. There was even debris stuck about 100 feet in the air in a tree that sits on the north edge of the property.

No one was injured during this explosion, which is remarkable considering where the house is located and the fact there are businesses and homes that surround it. There is the Purple Turtle restaurant across the street that sits along 100 East, a popular street in Pleasant Grove.

Investigators say their next step will be going through that debris, removing it a section at a time, hoping to find more answers.

Lindsey Vonn

On 2/18/2008 I had the opportunity to do a story about Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey trains in Park City a lot, and during this particular trip she was cool enough to let me meet her on the slopes for the story. Lindsey is exactly what she seems like on tv. She is down to earth, nice, and very respectful. You can also tell that she works really hard at what she does. Watching the 2010 Olympics in Canada is so fun knowing I had the opportunity to talk with one of the best skiers in the world.

Story Note: When I went to Park City to do this story, I didn't actually think I would be on top of the mountain with her, but as it turns out I was, at least until I got back on the ski lift and rode it back down. You see, I didn't exactly come prepared to ski. I had on jeans and a pair of cute dress boots. Looking back, I am sure I looked so unprepared. But, I think it worked out. The photographer I was with did all the skiing with her. I just watched from the bottom.
(Photos courtesy AP)

The story is 4:18 in.

Baylee Bragg

On February 16, 2010 I had a story air about a 2-year-old girl with a rare condition called OMS. It is a story I had been sitting on since December, when I first met and interviewed Baylee's parents. My producer wanted to hold it for sweeps, which I think in the end was the best idea. The piece aired in the 10pm show right after the Olympics and we had a huge rating.

The story with Baylee is one I hope no parent ever has to experience. When I met Britany and Harvey Bragg, they had just spend the last two weeks at the hospital going through just about every emotion known to man. Their beautiful daughter had gone from being completely normal, to losing all motor skills in about a day. Her eyes would dart back and forth, her arms and legs would shake, and she lost her ability to talk and walk. Doctors didn't know what was wrong with Baylee until she came to Primary Children's Medical Center. Once there they found the tumor that had caused the OMS. Now, after surgery, she is slowing getting better, though she will never fully recover.

Looking back on the interview I did, I remember walking into the family's house and Baylee immediately got scare of me and the photographer I was with. I was wearing a white coat, which we figured out must have scared her because for the past two weeks, doctors with white coats had been poking her, and doing tests on her in the hospital. After about an hour she warmed up, and sat on the floor with her dad and tired to play with the marbles. You could see just how hard it was for her. She was trapped in this body that wouldn't work. I will never forget Baylee or her parents. Over the last few months they have kept me updated on her progress, the medications she is taking, and now the on-going media attention that started with this story, and the determination from the Bragg family to get the word out about OMS.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

February 16th, 2010 @ 10:45pm

By Shara Park

SALT LAKE CITY -- Imagine your child happy and healthy one day and then falling over, twitching uncontrollably and losing all ability to speak the next.

It happened to a couple from Idaho and their 2-year-old daughter. Doctors had no idea why, until they brought the little girl to Utah.

When Baylee Bragg was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center doctors from Idaho thought her symptoms might be the result of bleeding in her brain. But that wasn't the case. Once at the hospital she was diagnosed with a rare condition that affects as few as one in 1 million people each year.

Two months ago it was difficult for Baylee to do simple tasks, like holding a Popsicle and putting a marble into a hole. Her father, Harvey Bragg, said, "It's hard to hold her head up. It's hard to pick something up without shaking."

Harvey and Britany Bragg say their daughter's symptoms appeared overnight. "She was very physically active," Britany said. The next thing they knew, her eyes were darting back and forth, her hands and legs were shaking, and she began throwing violent temper tantrums. "She tried to strangle me. I was trying to calm her down, and she put her hand on my neck and just started screaming," Britany said.

Doctors first thought Baylee's symptoms were the result of an inner ear infection, but then as more tests were done, an MRI showed what looked like bleeding in her brain.She was immediately flown to Primary Children's Medical Center where they found something else. "The first doctor that walked in was a neurologist, I believe, and he said, ‘No, her symptoms don't match up with anything in the brain, but I've treated something like this three times before.' He said it's called OMS."

After 15 minutes of playing with Baylee in the hospital, the doctor confirmed his suspicions. It was Opsoclonus Myoclonus Syndrome, or OMS. It's an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks its own healthy brain cells. It's usually caused by an infection or a tumor called a neuroblastoma. Baylee had the tumor. "They said it was where her aorta branches off into the major arteries in her legs, right on her tail bone and into her spinal cord," Britany said.

In most cases it takes months to diagnose OMS. With every wrong diagnosis, the effects become more irreversible. In one week Baylee was diagnosed, had surgery to remove the tumor, and was on her way to recovery. It was nothing short of a miracle. "It just seems like things were just falling into place where we could get her treatment as fast as possible," Britany said.

Baylee is now back home, but her struggles are far from over. There are the monthly trips to Primary Children's for chemotherapy and daily injections of an extremely expensive hormone drug called ACTH. There is also relearning how to walk and talk, something she has already begun to do.

According to the National Pediatric Myoclonous Center Registry, Baylee is only the fifth child with OMS to be diagnosed in Utah. There may be more children out there, but because the syndrome is so rare, it is often misdiagnosed.

E-mail: spark@ksl.com

So it begins...

Last night during a discussion with my father about a Bill O'Reilly book he recently read, he mentioned to me that I should be writing about some of my experiences as a reporter. I thought about it all night, and decided he's right. There are so many times as a reporter that we tell the story that needs to be heard. But we often don't tell about the things that go on behind the scene, the conversations, the chase, and often times the hearbreak that comes with telling some of the stories. Most people see reporters at their best. When we are composed. But it's not always like that.

So, as a way to document my journey and career, I have decided to write it all down. A friend of mine told me his professor told him that real journalist don't have blogs, and if they do they are not credible, unbiased journalists. But I disagree. I think the story I tell the general public is unbiased. The story I tell here doesn't have to be. Times are changing. People want to be able to connect with the person on tv. They want to know that they too are upset about things, or feel passion. I can say, I do.

Now, sometimes I may just post the story I did for the day. But if something significant happens, I will add more. I just want this to be a way for me to look back and say, I remember that, and here is why it impacted my life.