Toddler who fell into outdoor pool in Petrolia, Ont., showing signs of recovery

A 20-month-old boy who fell into an outdoor pool at a home daycare in Petrolia, Ont., last week is showing signs of recovery and was moved out of critical care Tuesday.

Waylon Saunders wandered out to the backyard of the daycare he attends and fell into an icy in-ground pool on Jan. 24. He was estimated to be underwater for about five minutes before he was pulled to the surface and then rushed to the local hospital.

"Upon arrival, they found that his body was 23 degrees. He was very, very, very, very cold, and when I got there, he wasn't alive," Waylon's mom, Gillian Burnett, told CBC Afternoon Drive host Allison Devereaux.

"Just being in the hospital holding your baby's feet, crying, hoping that they come back. It's pretty hard."

LISTEN: Gillian Burnett talks about her son Waylon's fall into an outdoor pool on CBC Afternoon Drive:

Lambton County OPP is investigating the incident but wouldn't provide further details.

Burnett said it took doctors more than two hours to get Waylon's heart beating again. He was then transported to the Children's Hospital in London, where he was put into a medically induced coma. Burnett said Waylon woke up on Monday and showed promising signs of recovery, including a smile.

"The first couple of days, they told us that the possibility of him being brain dead were pretty, pretty high," she said. "I had hope in my heart that I just knew. I knew I have faith in God, and I knew in my heart that God wasn't going to let him go."

Waylon was moved out of critical care on Tuesday.

"All the tubes are out. He does have brain damage to the right side of his brain, so that can affect his memory," said Burnett. "The tone of his body, like holding it upright, his left side is pretty compromised. He can't hold things or really move his legs."

An additional challenge as he's moved to the recovery floor of the hospital is the ongoing seizures Waylon is experiencing, including 11 on Monday.

Burnett and her husband Garth Saunders have been at Waylon's bedside since he was first rushed to hospital last Tuesday.

Family and friends have stepped up to support them, along with GoFundMe fundraiser to help with immediate costs and future care, which reached nearly $16,000 in donations at the time of publication.