RCMP says Langford daycare where infant suffered head injury is cooperating with the investigation

West Shore RCMP has released a statement saying that the daycare at which an 11-month-old infant suffered a serious head injury is cooperating with the ensuing police investigation of the incident.

“No arrests have been made and no charges have been laid,” reads the announcement from Cst. Nancy Saggar.

“The Ministry of Children and Family Development as well as Island Health have been notified with respect to any child care or safety concerns. Investigators have not yet determined if there was any criminality involved.”

On Friday, March 29th, Kate Haywood left to pick up her daughter, Sophie, from her licensed daycare in Langford. When Kate arrived, she told Victoria Buzz that staff were cleaning vomit from Sophie and informed her that her daughter had taken a fall and hit her head on a table.

As she was driving Sophie home, the infant’s condition worsened with each passing moment and decided to rush her to the Westshore Urgent Primary Care Centre.

From the urgent care centre, doctors told Kate that Sophie had a head injury and rushed the family to Victoria General Hospital (VGH) in an ambulance, where they were then airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

Prognosis

On Friday, VGH’s paediatric trauma team performed a variety of tests on Sophie, including a CT scan of her head. The CT scan revealed a possible skull fracture and a frontal lobe subdural hemorrhage. If pressure in her brain builds up from internal bleeding, she may require neurosurgery, something Kate and Thomas hope can be avoided.

After the paediatric trauma team assessed Sophie, they decided to transfer her to BC Children’s Hospital to receive the best possible specialized care.

In Vancouver, the paediatric neurological team discovered that Sophie had sustained hemorrhaging behind her eyes, and that there is a chance that surgery may still be required.

The team is closely monitoring her for improvements, and upcoming tests include X-Rays and MRIs to confirm if she suffered a head fracture or not. Since arriving at BC Children’s Hospital, Sophie has lost 1 kg from frequent vomiting and sleeping.

However, the 11-month-old has also been showing signs of recovery.

“Sophie is of course not herself, but she has been making a little bit of progress,” reads an update on the GoFundMe campaign. “Other than that, it is just a waiting game. Sophie is not really answering to any normal cues that she does, but we are in the right place.”

Community Support

Throughout the ordeal, the Haywoods have been grateful for the support of the community and health care workers involved.

Kate said that the doctors have been “absolutely amazing”, and that one of Canada’s top neurosurgeons is overseeing Sophie’s care.

Meanwhile, support from the island has been pouring in, including Facebook groups that have offered to cook the family meals and the GoFundMe campaign which raised over $3,000 in less than 24 hours.

“First and foremost, from the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU,” reads a GoFundMe update. “We are so grateful to have such a supportive community surrounding us.”

Kate is currently on maternity leave and Tom works in construction. Neither is able to work while they are in Vancouver looking after Sophie, and the financial support has helped the family focus on recovering.

“It’s been expensive, hard, and emotionally draining,” said Kate.

“Now I never want to leave my daughter and it’s going to be a big hit for me to go back to work, but I know I’ll have to bite the bullet.”

You can find the GoFundMe campaign, entitled Baby Sophie’s recovery, online here. At the time of publication, the campaign has raised $6,249 which is more than $1,000 over the initial goal.

With files from Adam Chan.