Julie Ann Jones had wanted a baby for so long that when Kaley was born September 26, 2003, the new mom was the happiest she’d ever been. Having lost Kaley’s twin during the first trimester of her pregnancy, she and her husband, Larry, were thrilled with the new baby‘s arrival.

 

Julie Ann Jones college graduation photo

A graduate of Indiana University, Julie Ann and Larry had been married for four years. He was a Beech Grove, Indiana firefighter and she was a 24-year-old dental hygienist. Now they were the happiest of threesomes. Since Kaley came a month early, weighing only four pounds, she had to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit after Julie Ann went home. With both their families living nearby, the new parents shared frequent hospital visits with relatives.

 

Then the unthinkable happened. On October 4, 2003, when Kaley was just eight days old, Larry and Julie Ann were headed home from the hospital when a 20-year-old drunk driver swerved and hit Julie Ann’s side of their Jeep. She died instantly of internal injuries, before she’d even healed from Kaley's cesarean birth. Julie Ann never got to take her baby home.

 

“Larry was so deep in grief, and all the relatives were shocked and angry,” says Cindy Oakley, Julie Ann’s stepmother. “But Larry’s strength amazed everyone.” Gathered with relatives to plan the arrangements, Cindy recalls the group’s anger reached the boiling point. “We were crying our eyes out, so upset,” Cindy says, “until Larry stepped in, saying, “Anger has no place here, nor is it to enter the funeral home. This is all about Julie’s life. I want to be able to celebrate her. I don’t want the focus to be on how she died.

 

Kaley Jones in piglet outfit

“It was devastating,” Larry says, “but you’ve got to get back out there and carry on. I had a daughter to raise. You can’t just roll over because a good person made a mistake. We’ve heard he was alone, had a sixpack, went back for a 12-pack, and another sixpack…but I hear he’s a good person.” The offender was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to six years. He was released after two-and-a-half-years.

 

Helping Larry and watching over Kaley involved plenty of relatives, friends and firefighters. “The firefighters were extraordinary to us,” says Cindy, whose husband Don is also a firefighter. They helped notify relatives, bring food, find photos of Julie Ann and Kaley for the funeral service, and had a suit made for Larry’s father in one day.

 

When Kaley came home from the hospital a few days later, Larry was naturally overwhelmed.  Relatives and friends came to care for Kaley after Larry returned to his shift, since firefighters work 24 hours on, and then 48 hours off. Julie Ann was on everyone’s mind. It was still hard to believe she wouldn’t be back.

 

Kaley Jones can now walk despite what doctors have said.

“Julie Ann was like sunshine,” Cindy says. She’d walk into a room and light it up. She was always vibrant and happy, and loved playing with our kids. She was thrilled to be like their big sis.”

 

After surviving Julie Ann’s death for almost a year, and enjoying Kaley every minute, Larry’s paramedic training and medical expertise led him to suspect that Kaley had some serious medical problems. Doctors confirmed his suspicion: Kaley has cerebral palsy, a form of paralysis believed to be caused by a prenatal brain defect or by brain injury during birth, most marked in certain motor areas and characterized by difficulty controlling voluntary muscles.

 

Today, Larry has his hands especially full, juggling his job with Kaley’s speech therapy and physical therapy appointments. “He adores Kaley, and spends every possible moment with her,” says Cindy. Larry has since married AdriAnn, one of Julie Ann’s best friends and a nurse who also helps with Kaley. Her 8-year-old son makes the Jones family a foursome.

 

Kaley, 5 ½, now walks with a brace on one foot. Doctors weren’t sure if she’d ever walk, and she spent a couple of years on a walker. “Not as advanced as she should be,” Cindy says, “she’s in a special education program. They are unsure of her mental capacity.”

 

Meanwhile, Cindy has become involved with MADD, and speaks regularly at victim impact panels in Hancock County, Indiana. Her goal each time she speaks: “… to provoke one single person to make a choice to never drink and drive again.”

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