Way’s Story

Waylon McCoy was only 6 weeks old when he was abused by someone he should have trusted. He came very close to dying.

The damage from the assault caused numerous strokes, triggering intense seizures and pain so severe his doctors had to sedate him and place him on a breathing tube and feeding tube.

Watching my newborn baby suffer while feeling completely helpless to take his pain away was unimaginably hard. So I chose to focus on love and positivity. I committed to bringing joy into his room whenever I could, because I had to believe that if we brought enough light in, we could drive out the dark.

In those harrowing early days, I realized we had a choice. We could follow a hate-filled path, or a loving one filled with joy and presence. We chose the latter. We call it the Loving Way.

Of course it’s not joy and light all the time. Waylon lives with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and cortical vision impairment. He is unable to eat and drink independently, and he carries significant developmental and cognitive delays. He cannot yet sit, stand, walk, or crawl, and because he can’t talk, he has no way to tell me when he’s hurting.

There are many difficult days. Days that leave me asking “Why him? Why my son? Why was he hurt this way?” The answer never comes, and I’m fully prepared that it never will. So I place my focus instead on Waylon receiving the justice he deserves and on sharing our story to help others on an even deeper, more personal level.

I tell Waylon all the time that this never should have happened to him. And I tell him that out of this horror and pain comes great purpose, that we will have the honor of helping so many people with our story. Together, our hope is that through Loving Way we will help dissolve the barriers and stigmas that keep this issue in the shadows, and show the world that child abuse can happen any time… in any home… in any income bracket… in any racial group. Child abuse does NOT discriminate.

Loving Way exists to empower families impacted by child abuse to write new chapters filled with healing, joy, and belonging. Rooted in our own experience, we walk alongside others on this journey, helping them stay in the light even when the world feels very dark. We are so grateful to share our positivity, our story, and our hope with every fellow traveler we meet along the way.

About Dawn McCoy, Loving Way Founder

Dawn McCoy is a TV host, actor, writer, and founder of her namesake media company, Dawn McCoy Media. As the mother of abusive head trauma survivor, she founded Loving Way in honor of her son, Waylon, with a mission to empower families impacted by child abuse to write new chapters filled with healing, joy, and belonging.

Dawn proudly serves on the board of Holton’s Heroes, an organization dedicated to supporting pediatric traumatic brain injury survivors and their families. In 2015, she launched the Dear 15 Me movement to build confidence in teens and strengthen communication between young people and the adults who love them.

Throughout her life, Dawn has partnered with more than a dozen nonprofits, including No Kid Hungry, Step Up Women’s Network, Foster Love, Dress For Success, ChildHelp, Max Love Project, the James Beard Foundation, Bryan’s House, Adopt Together, UNICEF, Easter Seals, Goodwill, and more. In those partnerships she has served on boards, emceed and auctioneered events, hosted toy drives, mentored, volunteered, secured sponsors, chaired fundraisers, and raised both awareness and funds for causes close to her heart.

Loving Way brings all of Dawn’s experience and community full-circle.