The Release

Not long after my sister woke up, my mother had introduced us to who is now my stepfather. He -at the time, was a police officer. He knew of my mother's past, our family's situation and yet still stuck around. Though on the cautious side, he did keep his distance for a bit allowing us to do what we needed to do (or my mother doing what she needed to do). This was a quality trait that most doesn't have.

Over the weekends my stepfather and I would get ice cream and sit outside and cloud watch. I didn’t know at the time, but that was the start of a lifelong friendship and a passion I didn’t realize I would have. We began bonding over the weather. It was the most exciting time of my life. We would watch storm clouds move in and start predicting the weather for the following day.

My mother enrolled at a school that was close to where he lived, which wasn't too far from Cooks Children’s Medical Center, (my sister was still in and out of the hospital for different reasons). After his shift, he would pick me up from school and take me to the hospital. When he, or my mother wouldn't be able to, my mother's best friend would step in. Between the three of them, things were going well for me.

Around 1995 my mother had found us a more permanent place for us to live using the government assistance. ​Tending to my sister was a full-time job, so she couldn't work. Though, we were only allowed these luxurious if we followed the rules and met the guidelines that were provided. Which we did. Thanks to my step-father, and my mother's best friend they had provided us gifts and extra necessities for us to maintain a normal household.

This also provided me a more stable education -though I was far behind, I was enrolled in a program with other children -I'll touch on this a bit more later on.

During the release of my sister, we were given medical assistance. A nurse would come in during the nighttime from 10pm to 6am. During the morning, afternoon and evening my mother and I would work together to provide the care my sister needed. This arrangement kept up for a long while. Things were looking up.​

​Between 95’ and 96’ the nurse that was hired had managed to make good friends with our family. We would attend picnics, do some shopping, and my sister and I would go to her house during the weekends. We began going over there more frequently.

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There were other children there, along with her much younger boyfriend’s children. She was fostering many disabled children as well. Of all the children (which were many) I was the oldest and most capable. Though I was still a child, I had an intellectual mindset.

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I remember sitting outside with the nurse's daughter and she would confide in me of her own struggles she was experiencing with all the kids. I guess because of my time at the hospital, and everything I've experienced, I acted less of a child, and it seemed easier for her to talk with me.

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​The nurse would try to separate my sister and I when it came to "bedtime" She would try to force me to sleep with the other children, but I was adamant about being with my sister. She would try to guilt me, coerce me, even try to bribe me with sweets and toys, but I stayed firm in my decision. The rooms were often cold and pillows thin. I would give my sister both my pillow and blanket to keep her warm. I didn’t like being there. It was uncomfortable and something felt off.

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After a while, she began neglecting her nurse’s duty. Leaving my sister in the bath unattended for a long amount of time, constantly on her phone while machines beeped, among other things she was doing.

Our neighbors had also gotten involved. I spent a lot of time with them as well when I was home. The wife had a nephew who was also disabled, and I spent a great deal with them. (He was such a sweet boy, even to this day being in my late thirties I still think about him).

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Things had become very intense. I would hear words being thrown around such as lawyers, courts and CPS. I was honestly scared I would be taken away from my mother and sister. The fear of never seeing them again was in the forefront of my mind. After months of this, things had thankfully worked out.

The neighbors had moved, leaving everything they had behind, and the nurse also had disappeared. I never saw any of them again, until I was watching a show called forgive or forget (an American talk show that aired on tv) where I saw the nurse and her children on there.

Everything was finally looking up, I was attending school regularly, my sister was out of the hospital. We had a different nurse who took care of her. I was working on my reading and writing. Things were getting to a normal state, and I couldn't have been more relieved.

A child's nightmare