EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) - Nearly a month after a horrific wrong-way crash along I-8, a one-year-old toddler is out of a coma and beginning a long road to recovery.
Cellphone video shows Kayte Blocker's son, Akeel, reaching for her hand in a room at Rady Children’s Hospital.
For Blocker, moments like this now mean everything.
“He's excelling, giving me hope,” said Blocker.
In late January, little Akeel was sleeping in his car seat in the back of an SUV. His father Anthony Robinson, driving his three kids, pulled up to a stoplight on N. 2nd St. in El Cajon.
According to the CHP, a truck headed the wrong way on I-8, crashed into a guardrail and a concrete wall, showering debris onto the vehicles below.
The truck careened over the overpass, bursting into flames, killing the driver.
One of the pieces of debris shattered a window of the SUV, struck Akeel in the head, causing two fractures. He was placed in a medically induced coma.
Two weeks later, an MRI revealed severe brain damage.
“It’s a hole in my heart, a crushing feeling,” said Blocker.
“As a parent, it hurts … traumatizing,” said Robinson.
A few days later, Akeel was removed from the coma, and a few days after that, he started smiling.
“He's in there. He doesn't have all his motor skills or words, but his smile is there. His laugh is there. He recognizes his mom and me,” said Robinson.
Doctors say Akeel's right, frontal lobe was impacted. He'll have to relearn almost everything, from talking to moving. His left side is weaker than the right. It's unclear how much of the brain damage will be permanent.
In the past week, his parents say he’s made some remarkable progress in physical and speech therapy.
“He is surprising doctors at how fast he is doing well,” said Blocker. “I’m hopeful.”
“Shows he's a fighter and warrior, and my hero. I have faith he will pull through,” said Robinson.
Late Monday afternoon, Akeel underwent surgery to place a 3D-printed, plastic skull plate over a section of bone removed during a previous surgery. His parents are hopeful that will be his final surgery. He could be released from the hospital in about a month.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help Akeel’s family with medical and other expenses.
