She says her husband Billy Groce had been watching their daughter that day..
She also noticed her eyes fixed only to the right, but didn’t call the hospital until the bump grew larger later that evening.
She told Tripler Army Medical Center, "These bumps keep on appearing on her forehead and what should I do?"
Referring to another bump that appeared just ten days before.
Both times, they attempted to ice the child’s forehead, hoping the swelling would go down.
When this bump didn’t, she says she drove the child to the emergency room.
The doctor there said the baby appeared to be in distress.
"The combination of the child’s unusual behavior, with eyes deviating to the right. The crying alternating with periods of unresponsiveness and the apparent injury to the head put together made us concerned for some sort of brain injury or skull fracture," said Dr. Bradley Pearson, Tripler Army Medical Center.
Which is what he says a CT scan confirmed. They also began to notice bruising in the shape of fingers on the child’s back.
"It would appear that one hand grasped the child on this side and another hand grasped the child on this side," Dr. Pearson said.
And more tests in the ICU uncovered multiple fractured ribs, which appeared to have occurred over different time periods.
"This would all appear to be consistent with non-accidental trauma or child abuse," Dr. Pearson said.
Doctors are still evaluating whether the child will suffer permanent brain damage.
Billy Groce has been charged with assault and is still being held on $1 million bail.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
