ROCHESTER — Looking at her now, it's hard to tell that 5-month-old Zoey Turner was the victim of a scalding little more than three weeks ago while taking a bath.
Zoey is back with her family in their new home on Mineral Park Drive in Dover after spending two weeks in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and another week at Shriners Hospital for Children.
Her parents say she survived for four days on breathing and feeding tubes and doctors even had to cut her left eye open to relieve the pressure that built up after her baby sitter, Crystal Grant, allegedly poured cups of scalding water on her head on May 18.
During that time, Zoey dropped from 14 lbs. down to 11 lbs. due to her liquid diet. Now she's home with her parents, twin brother Zachary and 2-year-old sister Hailey. She is off pain medication and quickly recovering from her injuries.
She will be back at Shriners Hospital on Tuesday because doctors want to monitor how her eyelid heals, making sure it doesn't tighten to the point it is prevented from closing completely, according to her mother, Ashley Turner.
"It burned her eyes so bad," Turner said of the "several" cups of scalding water Grant allegedly poured over the baby's head, causing second-degree burns and skin removal to 30 percent of Zoey's body. But aside from her tightened eyelid, there are few visible scars remaining from the incident. Turner pointed to Zoey's ear, which is missing a piece after sustaining third-degree burns due to its thinness, and the other burn scars that can only be seen on close inspection of Zoey's face.
"We're hoping it heals on its own," Turner said. "Looking at her nowunless you knew the story, you wouldn't think she got burned."
The parents consider themselves lucky. The father, John Michaud, said they saw other burn victims at Shriners Hospital that made them realize how much worse things could have been.
"We thought our child was bad," he said. "She could have had it a lot worse."
Though things could have been worse, the past three weeks have been a nightmare for the family. They had planned the move from their Somersworth home for the past month, but were not given an extension by their former landlord when this ordeal came into their lives.
"It's been hectic. We just moved, and now we're trying to get the house organized and take care of the munchkins at the same time," Turner said. "Three weeks of that month (they would have spent moving) were spent in the hospital."
"We had to move quick. But we understood. Everybody's got bills to pay," said Michaud.Everybody, including them.
Already a low-income family — Michaud works at Hannaford in Dover while Turner attends Empire Beauty School for cosmetology — Zoey's medical expenses have put a strain on the family finances. They have NH Medicaid, but were told it may not cover all out-of-state expenses. The last time she checked the receipts, Turner said they spent more than $1,000 during trips between New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
While they would have liked to stay with Zoey in the hospital, Turner said they came back to this state twice to meet with DCYF, Rochester Police, city welfare and lawyers.
Michaud said Hannaford gave him the time off to do what he needed for his family.
Others also stepped up to help. Turner said people randomly gave her money and bus tickets to make the trips to Boston. Their church, Next Level Church of Dover, has also been "awesome" for them. Still, she said, "I don't know how we did it. It's just bills, bills, bills... We're hurting."
Familial relations have also strained as a result. Grant is Michaud's cousin and Turner said she had mixed feelings about what Grant allegedly did.
"Absolutely I blame her," she said. "I don't think she did it on purpose... she simply went to go give her a bath because she threw up on herself... I don't think she had the right state of mind... How she could not feel that (150 degree) water is beyond me. Even when I make a bottle, I can tell when it's too warm."
Rumors circulated following the burning that Grant became frustrated because Zoey is a colicky baby. Turner said this is not true; while Zoey was colicky when she was first born, she had become a "very happy-go-lucky baby."
Turner also said she thinks Grant does deserve punishment for her alleged acts. But she also expressed sadness at what the incident has done to Grant and her family.
She said Grant was "a wreck" during the initial hospital visit. They called her each day for the first few days after the scalding. She said Grant experienced nightmares for days after it occurred.
Turner also expressed sympathy for Grant's parents, Bobbi-Jo and Ed Grant of Rochester. "All of a sudden their daughter gets sent away," she said. "She's not just the babysitter. She's family."
Grant is out on personal recognizance bail. Her case has been bound over to Strafford County Superior Court to be considered for indictment on a felony first-degree assault charge.
Now Turner and Michaud hope to return to a normal life. Michaud said people have seen Zoey in public and openly approached him with questions about her.
"She's a celebrity in the wrong way. I don't want to be a celebrity because of this. I just want to keep living life the way we were," Michaud said.
Another obstacle is teaching their children that the bath is not something to fear. They said they had trouble getting Hailey in the bath for two weeks afterward.
"She had to feel the water temp about 20 times," Turner said
Emotionally, Zoey has shown no ill effects from the incident. Turner said she's been "smiling and laughing" since coming home. Doctors advised giving her infant Tylenol, but Turner said she has not seemed agitated enough to need it.
"Hopefully she doesn't scar up that bad to the point she remembers. The only thing that could bring this up (later in life) is scars," Turner said. "Hopefully, that day never comes."
Those who wish to help Zoey Turner's family pay for her medical costs can send donations to the Zoey Turner Fund, Citizens Bank, P.O. Box 540, Canaan, NH 03743.
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Originally Posted by Ron_NYC
