EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The father of the baby boy who was left with severe injuries to his head told KTSM, “A miracle of God” is needed for his son, Azriel.
Doctors at El Paso Children’s Hospital told police investigators that Azriel’s brain swelling, retinal hemorrhaging, and seizures that they described as neurologically devastating.
“Chances of him being able to eat on his own, drink, move his hands, walk, even communicate and talk, basically everything; chances right now are literally just a miracle from God,” Guillermo Barraza, Azriel’s father, said.
Barraza spoke out about his son’s condition.
Barraza said that the moment he set foot into the hospital, his entire world collapsed.
“If you were to see the actual marks on his head, how he cries… It’s horrible. I don’t want him to suffer anymore,” Barraza said.
As KTSM previously reported, Azriel was brought to a local hospital on August 8, while in the care of the baby’s mother’s boyfriend, Luis Ramon Whitson, as he was “seizing and posturing,” a sign of severe brain injury.
Whitson had said the baby had soiled himself, so he bathed him, then stepped out briefly to retrieve a towel. When Whitson returned, he said the baby had fallen and hit the right side of his head on the tub, according to court documents.
However, doctors said the baby’s injuries were non-accidental. A radiologist said the baby experienced a sudden acceleration-deceleration event followed by impact trauma to the back of the skull, resulting in immediate symptoms, not delayed ones.
Medical experts said the skull fracture was inconsistent with a simple fall in a bathroom, as Whitson claimed, and more in line with the child being forcefully slammed against a hard surface.
An ophthalmologist also found severe retinal detachment in both eyes, which supported a diagnosis of abusive head trauma.
“Well, from what I understand from what the doctors have told me, he has lost about 60 to 65 percent of his brain. They already removed the entire left part of his brain. The right side does have damage to the front temporal lobe. And then there are some fibers on the bottom of the brain that send messages into the body to control the body; those are also damaged,” Barraza said.
Barraza said he wants the best for his son, even if that means no longer being in this world.
“It’s God’s will, but if there’s something I can do for my son to get better, I will do anything.”
GUILLERMO BARRAZA
Barraza is asking the community to pray for his baby.
Additionally, Whitson was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 27, and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $200,000 bond, where he remains in custody, according to jail records.
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