Violent visitors

Why isn't he moving?  It really bothered me that he just laid there so still like that.  As a mom, I couldn't help but be worried about him.  I was probably driving the nurses crazy.  I kept pushing "the call button" to ask them to come and check on him again.  I never saw him move.  I never heard him talk or utter a sound.  I never even saw him open his eyes!  The nurses couldn't tell me his back story or how he had come to be in this condition...confidentiality laws and all, but it was obvious that he had suffered some kind of traumatic brain injury.  Even the nurses were tiptoeing around his helmet.  They were taking the warnings written on it VERY seriously.

A couple of days into our stay the little boy with the helmet, Alex (not his real name), got some visitors.  The badges they were wearing indicated that they were from Children's Protective Services, a state government organization that helps protect children when there is trouble in the home.  Their arrival on the scene was a clear indication that Alex may have been the victim of some kind of abuse or neglect.  How could anyone have ever hurt this little boy?  He was so young.  He had no way of defending himself.

For the next couple of days his silent slumber continued.  The nurses would check on him often, and they would talk to him as if he were awake and could hear them.  Alex never responded to them.  He just layed there motionless.  Finally, two women came to visit him.  I could tell that the younger one was Alex's mom, and I guessed that the other woman was probably his grandmother or maybe an aunt.  His mom was crying, and telling him how sorry she was.  She held his hand, hugged him, and said lots of "I love yous."  Through her tears she kept repeating how sorry she was and that things were going to get better.  After 30 minutes or so Alex's mom kissed him and told him that they were going to leave for a little while, and that they would be back.  Then they turned on their heels and walked out of the room.

I wasn't sure what to think.  It looked like a very tragic situation to me.  I wasn't sure exactly what had happened to Alex, but it was clear that he had been the unfortunate victim of someone's anger and abuse.

What happened next was scary and surreal!  A man came in the room.  He sat in a chair next to Alex's bed, watched him sleep, and spoke so quietly to him that I couldn't hear what he was saying.  I tried to mind my own business on my side of the room, but the room was so small that Christopher's crib and Alex's bed were almost touching.  I kept my eyes on the book I was reading and tried to ignore what was going on literally inches from where I was sitting, but then Alex's mom returned.   When she walked in the door and saw the man sitting next to her son she started screaming at the top of her lungs.  The grandmother was yelling too, and soon it was absolute pandemonium!  The man stood up from where he was sitting and started yelling back at them, and before long there was some definite pushing and shoving going on.

I was in shock.  I wanted to run out of the room, but I couldn't leave Christopher.  I was afaid for our safety, so I started pushing the call button to alert the nurses.  Several nurses were in the room almost immediately.  They had heard the commotion from the nurses station.  They tried to contain the situation to no avail.  Both parties were pushing, screaming, and cursing.  Alex's mom was yelling about a "restraining order", and the nurses were trying to get them all to calm down and leave the room.  Before long hospital security was on the scene.  They were at least able to get everyone out in the hall until the police arrived and arrested the man for violating that restraining order. 

Man's love is imperfect, but God's love never fails!

I sat there stunned at what had just transpired.  It was just the three of us again.  Alex, Christopher, and I were unhurt.  Luckily, the two of them were not able to understand what had just happened, but I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed.  The anger and hate in their voices was so disturbing.  Poor Alex...I couldn't imagine such a small child having to live this way.  It must be so scary for him.  What will happen to him now?  Will he recover?  Who will take care of him? 

That was the last time that I ever saw Alex.  I don't know if he recovered or what ever happened to him.  Christopher and I were moved to a different room.  I asked to be moved because I didn't want to get caught in the cross fire again.  I was concerned for our safety.  Being in the hospital is bad enough without having to worry about getting caught up in another families' violence and drama.

I was concerned for Alex's safety too, but hospital security was keeping a close eye on things.  The nursing staff had strict instructions regarding who could and couldn't visit him.  We were released from the hospital before Alex was, so unfortunately I don't know the end of the story.  I pray that his story ended well.  I pray that he recovered from his injuries, and that he grew up in a safe and loving home.  He would be in his early twenties now.  I pray that the cycle of violence ended with him.

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this:

More tomorrow...