The Day I Knew- Part 3

Part 1 and Part 2 here.

There was another and important reason to keep communication open Julia and help her get well…my sister had a 3-year-old daughter, Mikayla.

My sister, Debbie, kept the lines of communication open.  She worked tirelessly to care for Mikayla during weekend visits when Julia came over.  There were good days and bad days during the next few years.   Julia was able to hold a job as a skin care specialist answering questions about products and problem solving over the phone.  In the hours she was working, my mom cared for Mikayla.  During the years between 2010- 2012, she managed her illness with medication, however, the medication she needed wasn’t covered by her insurance and a sequence of events in an already fractured mind, began another downward spiral into her illness.

At the beginning of 2013, we all started to get worried again.

Balancing Mikayla’s care became ever more intense.  Many discussions about how to care for her well-being consumed our thoughts and family conversations over the next several months.

Through a turn of events in July 2013, and after much prayer, Debbie and I and our spouses, decided that Mikayla should come and live with us in LA County to provide a bit of distance and create a sense of normalcy for her.  She began her 2nd grade year in our home.  She was 6.

It was heart-wrenching for everyone.

I’d love to say it’s all been roses, unicorns, and rainbows,  but it hasn’t.  There have been many hardships in this transition. Court visits, attorney fees, custody arrangements, counseling appointments, adjustments to our new 3 child family and how it impacted us, and many, many tears.

I coped with my emotions the best I could. I’d try to rest in the understanding that God had this.  That He was taking care of her and us. But there was always that looming question, “Why? Why’d Julia have suffer like this?”

Some days the questioning and doubt became overwhelming and I’d cope, with comfort food.  The Day I Knew soon became many more days of knowing our lives would be forever impacted by this terrible illness.

Love you loves.

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March was my month to attempt a blog post almost every day.  Now that I’m headed back to work, post-surgery, beginning April 1, I’ll publish my posts on Fridays.