A distraught family is praying for the best after a one-year-old baby fell from a third-floor window and is now in hospital in a serious condition.
Andre Benicio Ferreira Brito, aged just 1 year and 7 months, was seriously injured in the accident that took place in the community of Cesar Maia in the neighbourhood of Vargem Pequena in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
The accident took place on Tuesday, 16th November. The youngster was at home with his mum, 21-year-old Katleen de Souza Brito, at the time.
According to the statement the devastated young mum gave to the police, the youngster got up onto the bed, ran towards the window and fell out.
Katleen, who is seven months pregnant, said she had to position the bed next to the window due to the small size of the room.
The injured boy was first taken to a local clinic before being transferred to the Salgado Filho Hospital, where he underwent an operation.
He was then transferred to another health facility in the city, where he is being monitored by a team of neurosurgeons.
He has been fitted with an Intracranial Pressure Monitoring (ICP) device and the doctors hope the swelling on his brain will reduce in order for them to take the next steps in his treatment.
The boy’s grandma Ana Paula Santos de Souza told news portal G1 she was worried about her pregnant daughter, who hasn’t left her son’s side.
She also condemned the criticism her daughter apparently received on social media. She told G1: “My daughter is destroyed, we are destroyed. It has ended our family.
“The police will investigate whether there was neglect because it is their job to investigate. But this does not mean that there was abuse or negligence.
“If my daughter abused my grandson, I would be the first person to intervene. I would never let that happen.
“But an investigation does not give people the right to condemn her on the internet, to suggest she was on drugs or anything like that.”
She added: “Now it’s time to pray for Benicio to stabilise in the next three days and pull through this.”
