MOULTRIE — The mother of an infant, thought by law enforcement to have been a victim of shaken baby syndrome, thinks that her son was misdiagnosed and that her jailed mother and stepfather should be set free. The district attorney’s office contends there is enough expert evidence to warrant the charges.

Susan Gabbard, 50, and Leroy Cates, 40, both of 2747 Fifth St. S.E., were arrested several days later for felony cruelty to children after 5-month-old Christopher Sumrall went into respiratory arrest at their home March 19.

Christopher was in the care of Gabbard and Cates for a week when, after the baby was laid down for a nap, Gabbard heard him gurgling and gasping for air, said Bonnie Hair, the baby’s mother. He wasn’t responsive, so they put water on his mouth and called 911, she said. The dispatcher instructed them to administer CPR on the infant, she said, and emergency services responded, incubated him and transported him to Colquitt Regional Medical Center.

Under the advice of Dr. Patricia June, who said she found a small brain bleed, the baby was transferred to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite to Dr. Andrew Reisner, a pediatric neurosurgeon, instead of Dr. Munir Kapasi, a specialist in pediatric critical care to whom the grandmother and mother signed off for Christopher’s transfer. Hair said Dr. June didn’t agree with the opinion of Dr. Munir Kapasi at Scottish Rite that Christopher had had a seizure.

The final diagnosis from CRMC was respiratory arrest, medical reports said. Later, an EEG revealed he was having seizures at the Atlanta hospital, Hair said.

Reisner’s medical records note that Christopher developed epileptic seizures and had been transferred to the intensive care unit. Shaken baby syndrome can result in seizures, numerous Web sites on the topic indicate, Hair said.

Christopher had suffered a small-load subdural hematoma and bilateral retinal hemorrhages, Reisner’s reports indicated. Hair said Reisner told her retinal hemorrhaging was consistent with shaken baby syndrome, further advised her that this was the only possible cause and stated the baby had been badly beaten for about 20 seconds, dismissing her concerns at that time that her son’s injuries might have been brought on by CPR efforts. Those physician reports prompted social services to bring forth charges against Gabbard and Cates.

Hair now thinks her child’s subdural brain bleeding was from an epileptic seizure. Before the incident, Christopher at times would stare blankly ahead or shake his head back and forth, even while asleep, and was very sensitive to light, she said.

Thankfully, Christopher is now doing well, Hair said, holding out a bottle of Phenobarbital prescribed by Dr. Reisner. Phenobarbital is medication for epilepsy.

“He’s playful, happy just like nothing ever happened to him — all signs that an epileptic seizure happened,” she said.

But Hair said she is taking him to another specialist for another opinion and hopes to get the medical proof to get the child abuse charges dropped.

The defendants have been sitting in jail since their arrest. They were denied bond by the Magistrate Court and are to have a bond hearing before a Superior Court judge, said Assistant District Attorney Brian McDaniel.

The prosecutor said he didn’t have all the medical records but based on the Scottish Rite physician’s assessment, the charges at this point are warranted.

“Right now as I understand the evidence from one of the doctors up there, there is no doubt in his mind that this child was the victim of a shaken baby situation and that this was an intentional injury,” McDaniel said, emphasizing that Scottish Rite is one of the leading pediatric hospitals in the nation.

“My main concern is they have forgotten completely about my son, and the only thing they’ve concentrate on is pressing the charges against my mother and stepfather. That’s not right. That’s not how it should be handled. …We’re hurricane refugees. It’s sad we can come to a town, and the town just treats us the way they have,” Hair said. “…These people are basing a case before they can even find out exactly what’s going on. To me — I thought this was the land where you’re innocent until proven guilty; however, they’ve put these people guilty and they’re doing everything they can to prove they’re innocent.,” she said.

“We’ve just been through the most traumatic experience of our life, losing everything, watching dead bodies float down a river during Hurricane Katrina. For us having to come to a town, which we never wanted to have to come to in the first place. We’re stuck up here. People are supposed to be helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and that’s how they treat us? It’s not right,” she said.

Christopher’s grandfather, Berle Gabbard, said he was a grand mal seizure epileptic from infancy to age 5 and recognizes the symptoms in his grandson. Additionally, epilepsy runs in the family of the infant’s father, Hair said. Gabbard is convinced, he said, that his ex-wife and Cates had witnessed the latter part of a grand mal seizure and saved the baby’s life.

Both defendants, housed in the Colquitt County Jail, have medical conditions, and Hair said she is concerned that they’re not getting the medical attention they need. Gabbard in January underwent aortic bypass surgery and is weakened by that, Hair said, and Cates is under treatment for bipolar disorder.