Toddler injured by daycare worker makes full recovery

HARLINGEN, Texas ( ValleyCent ral) — A 15-month-old girl who was smothered by a daycare worker is being called a miracle by her mom.

Raylani is out of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and her medical team expects her to be discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.

Raylani’s mom is thankful to God, the officer, and her medical team which included PICU RN, Valerie Neeley and Pediatrician Dr. Luis Pablo Lee at Valley Baptist Medical Center for saving her baby.

After Raylani spent days in the PICU, her mother was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“I have seen her progress so quickly and I think a lot of it has to do with the care that she received here at the hospital,” said Leslie De La Garza, Raylani’s mother.

On June 27, authorities responded to The Little Red Schoolhouse in Harlingen regarding an unresponsive 15-month-old girl.

At the scene, officers found a daycare worker holding the child. One of the officers immediately started CPR, until EMS arrived and took over.

But De La Garza says, the daycare caller left out a major piece of the picture, which was that her so-called-caregiver assaulted her.

Police identified the woman as 30-year-old San Benito resident Belinda Perez. She was charged with injury to a child.

“A caregiver grabbed my baby from the crib and put her hand over her nose and mouth and did that for about a minute or two,” she said.

Perez was arraigned on June 29 and given a bond of $750,000. She was also given an ankle monitor and conditions to keep away from daycares and children.

Harlingen police confirmed the assault was captured on the daycare’s security cameras.

De La Garza cannot bring herself to watch the footage.

She believes God has big plans for her little girl.

“They’re gonna be fantastic, great. I feel like God has such a big plan for my daughter’s life. I don’t know what. I’m not sure but I know she’s said to be and do really great things”, De La Garza said.

The officer who saved her life and started CPR is being honored by the City of Harlingen on Wednesday.

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