Little Carmello's Malden grandmother awaits word on his release
Doctors of the 8-week-old boy who last week suffered severe injuries after his father allegedly threw him to the ground in Malden, are expected to meet soon to discuss plans for his release, a family member said.
"We thought he would be there for months," said Charlene Nickerson, the grandmother of Carmello Sears, in an interview at the Cross Street home where her daughter, Crystle Sears, lives and the alleged incident occurred July 20.
Crystle Sears, 23, said in a Facebook message posted to a page established to support the injured child, that the boy was "off all of the machines and support."
"IT IS A MIRACLE," the brief message on Please Pray for Baby Carmelo Sears began. The infant could be released as early as today, it said.
When the baby was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, he had suffered a double skull fracture, broken fingers, and a broken leg, Nickerson said. Doctors also found a blood clot in the back of his brain.
Instead of catching the baby, the boy bounced off Sears’s body, landing on the pavement.
Edwards pleaded not guilty in Malden District Court to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury. He was ordered held without bail by District Court Judge Lee Johnson, and is due back in court Thursday for a dangerousness hearing.
The boy was initially listed in critical condition, but after a blood transfusion July 21, little Carmello began to rebounded, Nickerson said.
Doctors started to remove the medical aids that helped him survive, including a breathing tube that was inserted into his wind pipe and an accompanying feeding tube, she said.
"Little by little, one thing came off," she said. The last to go was an intravenous drip.''
Now the infant takes his bottle and breathes on his own, Nickerson said.
"He's in the best place with the best doctors," she said. "He's a tough little boy."
Initially doctors and family members had braced for the worst, said Nickerson, her brow knit, fighting back tears, in the brief interview at her home.
Although the baby has made much progress in his recovery, she said, many questions remain about coordinating long-term care.
After his release, the baby will require in-home nursing care for the foreseeable future, she said. and will require monitoring for continued complications that can surface later in the child's developments.
One avenue of concern, she said, in the blood clot in the boy's brain.
"They say not to worry about it, but, you know," she said, reluctant to utter the alternative.
Meanwhile, Crystal Sears has remained by the baby's side, and continues to experience the shock of watching her newborn son tumble before her.
"She still has flashbacks," Nickerson said. "You can see her arms going out to catch the baby."
Nickerson, who has been charged with caring for her daughter's two other children since the incident, said she recently lost her job and now may lose her home where the extended family is living, Nickerson said.
"We're having a very hard time right now," she said. "But we're just happy he's alive."
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