West Shore RCMP’s serious crimes unit and Island Health are investigating after a baby suffered head injuries at a family daycare in Langford.
Police were called on Friday after the 11-month-old was airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
When the mother, Kate Haywood, picked up Sophie from daycare on Friday, she discovered she had been vomiting, according to a GoFundMe fundraising page set up to support the family during the child’s recovery.
The daycare operator told Haywood that earlier in the day, Sophie had fallen and injured her face. The child appeared lethargic, so Haywood took her to a nearby urgent care centre to be checked.
Doctors determined Sophie had suffered a head injury, so she was rushed to Victoria General Hospital. The pediatric trauma team performed several tests on Sophie, including a CT scan that revealed a possible skull fracture and a frontal lobe subdural hemorrhage.
Sophie and her mother were airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital while her father, Tom, took the ferry to meet them there. The family feared that internal bleeding in the brain could cause a buildup of pressure, requiring neurosurgery.
More tests revealed that Sophie had hemorrhaging at the back of her eyes.
The child has dropped a kilogram in weight from frequent vomiting and sleeping, her family said.
More than $6,000 has been raised to support the family, as Tom is unable to work at his construction job while at the hospital with Sophie, and Kate is unable to look for jobs until Sophie is fully recovered and able to return to daycare.
“We are so lucky to be at the best hospital in the world, and have world-renowned doctors and neurosurgeons making sure Sophie is well taken care of,” Sophie’s parents said in a statement.
Police are in the early stages of the investigation and have not determined if any criminality is involved, said West Shore RCMP spokeswoman Const. Nancy Saggar. No one has been arrested and no charges have been laid.
Staff at the daycare, which police are not naming, are fully co-operating with the investigation, Saggar said.
Minister of Children and Family Development Katrine Conroy said her office is aware of the investigation, but she can’t speak to specifics of the case. “My heart goes out to that family. I can’t imagine what they’re going through,” Conroy said.
Island Health’s community care facilities licensing department, which oversees and inspects all licensed daycares on the Island, will investigate whether there were any health and safety violations.
“Licensing is investigating and while that investigation is ongoing, no further comment will be made,” it said in a statement.
