Do I have anything to say?: Eight Weeks

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Eight Weeks

I can't believe Zoe has been living here for eight weeks now. I also can't believe how busy I am even though she goes to Head Start from 9-4 and has visits right after that until 8 Monday through Friday...and took an almost 2 week vacation and wasn't getting full-time hours in the weeks before that. So, I feel like I haven't been on my computer much, twitter much, fb much, and my house isn't clean. But, we try to have fun during the time we do have together (which isn't that much, unfortunately...and probably part of why it is usually close to 10:00 by the time she gets to sleep which makes for way too short of a night for a 4 1/2 year old :( )

Last week, she was off school a couple of days while I was on vacation. We went to the Zoo, an IMAX movie, the pumpkin patch, and the children's museum. She is SO good for me, and super sweet. She got a cold last week which turned into a lot of coughing and I decided to go ahead and call the doctor on Monday. They started her on an (oral) antibiotic and treatments three times a day instead of two. Thankfully, her teacher is awesome and is going to do the middle of the day treatment, but I still have to drag her heavy machine back and forth places every day (hopefully for only two weeks!) I guess this is better than living in the hospital, but it is still tough.

The case is kind of frustrating because the "people who matter" seem very high on Zoe's mom and she gets free passes all the time. She missed a doctor's appointment, hasn't attended any family team meetings, and is difficult to reach because half the time her phone is disconnected. I thought she was making progress a couple weeks ago when she got talked to about increasing the amount of calories Zoe takes in at visits, but that only happened once or twice. She "refuses" her supplement when with her mom, but she drank 6 ounces tonight for me without me giving more than a "drink your milk" prompt. She apparently throws tantrums and doesn't listen to anyone on visits. I haven't seen any behavior like that. Since her mom hasn't attended any meetings (and I haven't talked to the worker in a while), there really are no established goals that I know of...just that they want her back home ASAP (or maybe with the aunt who doesn't seem as involved as I thought she was going to be).

The next court date is December 3, so I know I'll have her until then. Right now, the visits are supervised and mom doesn't do any of her treatments. So, hopefully there will be a gradual transition or some kind of way to prove that mom actually is going to take care of all her needs (and keep a working phone which is really important when you have a child with medical needs).

Anyway, that's what's been going on here. The teen hasn't stayed the night here in over a month. I miss her, but she has called when she needed things, so at least she knows who she can count on ;) She took her ACT last Saturday and I'm hoping she was able to boost her score enough to be at the minimum requirement to attend her "dream school".

Until the next time...

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This blog purposefully is left full name and location free out of respect to my family and to my patients/families. Due to the nature of my work, and having foster children in my home, it is important to maintain privacy and confidentiality. All photographs of patients were either given to me by the families or taken with family permission. Thank you for your understanding and support in helping me protect myself and "my people" =) If you have any questions, or want to know more about me, feel free to email me at iloveblogs44 {at} gmail {dot} com.

Who's Who

Updated September 2013

I have one sister who is married and has two boys. "A" was born June 2009 and "I" was born March 2012. We are both really close to my parents and have lots of "family dinners".

I wrote a lot about my patients when I first started this blog. Some patients are still growing and thriving, and others have lost their battles.

My first foster placements lived with me from June 2010-September 2011. They were sisters who were 15 and almost 3 when they were placed with me and are now 18 and 5. I called M "the teen" and L "the little one". They live with their mom who still has many issues, but are doing well (ok) and I still have (not enough) contact with them.

My second foster placement came to me September 6, 2012. I call her Zoe and she turned 5 in April. She has cystic fibrosis and has been a patient on my floor at the hospital. The plan is still reunification.

Ivy is a 17-year-old whose mom died just before Thanksgiving. She has a Guardian, but is unable to live with him due to some family issues. She has no other family who is willing/able to take her. She moved in with me the beginning of February. She moved to a group home at the beginning of August as her needs were too great for me with my schedule and having another child with special needs.