Chapter 5: We are a Family

Friday July 30, we brought Kayda home. We had a wonderful weekend. On the Tuesday the social worker dropped in to see how Kayda was doing to see if we really were competent to care for her. Well, when she came Kayda was happy and laughing away and obviously content. Early Wednesday morning I woke up to hear Kayda whimpering. When I went to her she was very hot to the touch. I panicked and roused Dave and we roared off to our local hospital. She was checked out and we were told she was ok at the time. Dave & I took turns supervising her so we could catch up on sleep. About mid morning she fell asleep and stayed that way no matter what we did. I checked her heart rate and it was about 40. I’d been told by her family doctor to not let her get lower than 50. So, I phoned 911 as Dave was out. She was given a further chest xray and it clearly showed pneumonia. Over the next couple of days we were shipped off to the Children’s hospital and as they didn’t have any free beds we were sent back to the local hospital. Previously I’d decided that I wanted the pediatrician who cared for Amanda & Cathy and a couple of the other children I’d cared for as Kayda’s pediatrician. However, I decided to give the pediatricin in our town a chance. The first time he walked into her room, he looked at Kayda, and said “What is the plan for this child? Do we resuscitate or don’t we?” Oh oh!!!!!!! After 5 days in hospital she came home on supplemental oxygen. A couple of days later Kayda went to spend one day with the foster family. The next day, we were called by the social worker again saying that the foster mom had filed another complaint about the unsuitability of our home for Kayda’s health. That was it for me! I’d agreed previously that Kayda could visit her frequently and that she could provide respite for her. However, one more complaint was too much for me to deal with. I phoned her and told her that she’d blown it. There would be no further phone calls or visits. To this day, over 6 years later we have had no contact with the foster mom. We did meet the family of one of the other children that had been in her home a while later, and learned that this girl had also been taken out of the foster home shortly after Kayda left by her family who had major concerns about the care she’d been receiving.