Well wishes and prayers are coming in from all over for two-year-old Caleb Brown, who remains in critical condition in a drug-induced coma at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital.
"We have just been overcome by all the support we have been getting," said his grandfather, Timothy Brown Sr.
Mr. Brown said a woman on Tuesday night drove up from Dalton to visit with the family after hearing about Caleb's plight on a Christian radio station. Mr. Brown said the woman told her husband, "I think I will drive up to Chattanooga tonight." The husband replied, "Oh, you are going to see Caleb."
He said a couple who had been at an Islamic conference in Nashville drove down to see the family after reading about Caleb's freak injury on Sunday at Fall Creek Falls State Park. They were total strangers to the Browns before this week.
Mr. Brown said the Van Buren County Sheriff's office is looking into whether the boulder that struck Caleb in the back of his head might have been pushed off by teenagers at the top of the falls.
He said a witness told of seeing two teens "messing around" at the top of the falls.
Mr. Brown said the witness stated that when Caleb's mother let out a scream from the base of the falls "the teenagers started running away."
Mr. Brown said his son was very angry when he first heard that report.
Mr. Brown said his own view is that if the teenagers were throwing rocks into the pool below that surely they would not have been aiming at anyone.
He said the rock weighed over 25 pounds and was the size of a basketball.
He said it came careening down, then it struck a rock that was jutting out. He said that caused it to veer to the side directly toward where Caleb's mother, Tiffany, was holding him in her arms.
Mr. Brown said the rock did not make much noise coming down and there was not much warning. However, he said Mrs. Brown did have a brief moment to try to turn out of the way. He said that caused the side of the rock to hit instead of the whole force of the rock straight on.
He said, "My son said if Tiffany had not moved, then both she and Caleb would have been crushed by the rock."
Mr. Brown said the prognosis for Caleb is still touch and go and the doctors are being careful not to give them any false hope.
But he said one doctor said he once had a patient who was in much worse shape than Caleb "and he still stops by to see the doctor ever so often."
Mr. Brown said the blow caused a portion of Caleb's skull to penetrate into his brain. He said it is lodged near a main artery.
Doctors have been waiting for the swelling to go down before planning an operation to try to remove the projection.
Mr. Brown said Tuesday at 6 p.m. was considered a significant time since it had been 72 hours since the injury. He said the swelling should come down by this time, but sometimes it is days later.
He said pressure on the brain should be about five pounds. He said with Caleb since the injury it has varied between 7-20. He said it then went up to 30, causing new concern. But he said doctors hope that is the highest "spike" it will reach.
Mr. Brown said Caleb is also having issues with other parts of his body, including his heart, lungs and kidneys. He said that will be addressed later after the brain issue is dealt with
Mr. Brown said his youngest son - Caleb's uncle - has put up a Facebook page and it has already drawn a huge following.
It can be found here:
Caleb Brown's facebook page
A trust has been set up at Suntrust bank. Anyone wanting to make donations can either go to a bank branch for the Caleb Brown Trust or send a check to Suntrust Bank Attn: Special Handling VA - RIC - 9292 P.O. Box 27572 Richmond, VA 23261 - 7572. Please make checks payable to Caleb Brown Trust.