Lacia

Recovery

The next week was spent with me going in and out of surgery to repair and help my collapsed windpipe heal. I was able to start talking again after the first week and the surgeries stopped. I was told that it would probably take a while to recover fully. I would need more operations in future but not for another 4-6 months. They prescribed me an inhaler and painkillers.

The others were still here. Being treated for malnutrition and dehydration. We all had our fair share of bandages and things to help our other scars and injuries. We all made sure we were all in the same room and all now owned camouflage jackets.

Our social workers had all gone to the house and packed our stuff for us and were finding New placements for us. We knew we couldn't stay together but we could definitely keep in touch with one another.

Pops had visited us and apologized for everything. He knew he couldn't keep custody of us but he tried desperately to make it up to us in every way possible. He paid the medical bills and bought all of us new phones and laptops so we could stay in touch with each other. He even set up our email addresses and hooked up both of the devices with his credit card and told us to get any apps and games we wanted and he would pay for them all.

He hired a bail bonds person and managed to get Lulu bailed out until the trial. She escaped though. That terrified me more than anything she was still out there. She would haunt my nightmares for years to come.

The bail bonds person (a tall blonde woman with blue eyes) came and questioned us about it but none of us knew Lulu well enough to know where she would go. Not exactly much bonding time between beatings.

During the second week in hospital we went to a few different group therapy sessions and a couple of one on one sessions with a trained child psychiatrist. We were all diagnosed with PTSD and mild anxiety so we would have therapy in future.

Louisa and Phil got to leave first. They had the same social worker and were being placed in a foster situation with a young couple. There were about fifty different intense background checks on them. They seemed nice and very excited about having children.

Daser left next to stay in a temporary placement with a family who had multiple children of their own. Very nice kind people.

Bobby, Tim and JessaBella all left on the same day to different group homes. Then it was Just Natalie and I. We talked to each other all the time (or as much as I could) and did little jigsaw puzzles and board games together but eventually Natalie went to a group home as well and it was just me for 2 days.

Barb came and started with me all the time and there was a police officer stained at the door at all times. Barb did find a new placement for me. A large group home run by two brothers. It seemed like a great place.