Boy in Coma Improves; Inquiry Continues

A 17-month-old San Clemente boy was improving but remained in a coma Thursday while his mother kept a vigil at his bedside and said the toddler’s injuries were the result of an accident.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation late Tuesday after the boy’s parents rushed him to Children’s Hospital at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center with critical head injuries.

Authorities said they suspected potential abuse in part because the boy had been admitted to the same hospital three weeks ago, also with serious head injuries. Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said Thursday the investigation was continuing.

“At this point we have no arrests and we think the investigation will be wrapped up in the next few days,” Wilkerson said.

The boy’s mother said she is devastated by her son’s injuries, calling them a string of “bad accidents.” Last month, she said, her son managed to get out the front door and fall down a flight of stairs--which she blamed on a worker who left a child-safety gate open.

Tuesday night, the mother said, she was feeding the toddler when he stood up in his high-chair and fell over backward, hitting his head.

“It might look bad that they happened so close, but I’m not an abusive mother,” said the woman, who asked that her name be withheld to protect the family’s privacy. “This is a mother’s worst nightmare.”

Hospital spokeswoman Andrea Pronk said the boy was improving “a bit” but remained in critical condition in a coma.

The boy’s mother said county social workers have placed her 3-year-old son into protective custody as a precaution. She said the move was unwarranted.

“We want him back,” said the woman. She said child welfare workers have taken away her children on at least two occasions in the past few months because she and her husband were having marital difficulties.