The 19-month-old was taken to Texas Children's Hospital, where family members tell Eyewitness News he was still being treated for severe dehydration Friday night.
Relatives and friends of Norma Davis, 63, gathered outside the northwest Houston apartment where she lived. Davis had been caring for the 19-month-old since he was about one month old.
The child belongs to a friend of the family. His biological family had apparently asked Davis to look after the child.
"She always did care for people, especially babies. She loved little kids," Davis' friend, Ruthie Johnson, said.
CPS officials had visited Davis at her apartment twice this month, and we're told everything was fine.
"What we look at is whether or not the child has a relationship with that person, a bond and if they're able to care for their needs, so we don't discriminate on age," CPS Spokeswoman Estella Olguin said.
But when Davis' family hadn't heard from her since Christmas, her son, Carl Thomas, received a call Friday morning from one of his cousins asking him to check on her. Thomas found his mother on the floor in the living room.
"I just went up there and found her, found her laying on the ground," Thomas said.
The 19-month-old was in a carriage next to her.
"He was dehydrated and had lost a bunch of weight," Thomas said. "The EMS gave him some fluids and stuff. Hopefully he'll be alright though."
It's not known how or when Davis died. Her son tells Eyewitness News she had been ill for quite some time, but yet she was still able to care for that little boy.
Emergency responders say they gave the boy fluids as they rushed him to the hospital. Children's Protective Services says he'll be placed back in foster care once he's released.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office says there were no signs of trauma on Davis' body so it appears she died from natural causes.
