Deteriorating

I wrote this on Saturday, the 21st but never got a chance to proofread and publish it:

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours!

Yesterday afternoon Molly, my friend who is caring for Karen, called. She was very upset. Karen had suddenly begun acting really strangely. Molly didn't feel safe. She also feared for the safety of her two kids.

Molly explained that Carlos, a sweet boy I know, stopped by her house. He used to live at the (now extinct) ministry with Karen. Molly figured it would be good for Karen to see a familiar face during this time of transition. At first it was fine. Then Molly noticed Karen was acting strangely. She was looking at the visiting boy in a weird way and walking differently.

After the boy left, Karen (who is thought to be about 30 years old but never got an accurate birth certificate) started staring at Molly's eleven year old son in a strange, obsessive way. Molly tried to put a stop to it, which made Karen angry.

Karen's previous caretaker told horror stories about Karen's violent behavior. Karen did not become violent yesterday, but she glared at Molly and continued staring at the young boy. She kept trying to get him alone and signaling to him she wanted to tell him a secret. The more Molly intervened, the more defiant Karen became.

Molly was concerned for the well being of her 11 year old son, as well as the safety of the household. She has raised the boy and his younger sister as her own for the past four years. She met them when they lived in the ministry where Karen lived. They suffered abuse and neglect but are finally settling into a more normal life with Molly. However, behavior like Karen's could cause a big setback in their lives.

Realizing it was a delicate situation, Molly called me for help. I flashed back to my days of working in a lock down facility for sex offenders. God prepared me well for this situation. I realized that Karen must have been triggered by the older boy's presence. I gave Molly a safety plan for her home and asked if she would like me to come and stay with her so she would have an extra set of eyes and another authority figure there. Molly was so relieved!

I still can't drive stick shift because of my ankle but Molly was more than happy to come and get me.

There was a team here, visiting from the US. I almost had to cancel a visit with them, but it all worked out perfectly. We had a nice visit. We sat in my garden and drank ginger tea and juice from the jamaica flower. I got to share with them about all of the stuff I've been working on and hear about their experience this week. They were exhausted, but clearly enjoying their time in Los Pinos. Molly arrived to pick me up 15 minutes after they left.

The first night was uneventful. Molly and I stayed up late giggling, which was a great stress relief for both of us.

Saturday we took Molly's son to soccer practice. Karen seemed fine. But after soccer she acted strange again. She kept staring at him and would not take her eyes off him. He ate lunch oblivious to her constant focus on him and then went off to play.

Karen's head swiveled around and her eyes never left him. Sometimes Molly put herself between Molly and her son. Karen glared at Molly each time. When she was corrected she got angry. She clearly knew what she was doing is wrong, but refused to stop.

She stared at the eleven year old boy like he was her favorite food and she was about to devour him in one gulp. Thank God for his youth and innocence. So far he hasn't noticed her fixation.

This afternoon/evening, Karen has been in her room. We did a sweep of the house, indoors and out. It's probably not necessary, but we made sure anything which could be used as a weapon is inaccessible.

Molly is trying to get Karen moved as soon as possible. Tomorrow she will take her to a church for deaf people. I will stay with the kids and another friend is traveling with them so Molly will not be alone in the car. On Monday morning she will move into her new placement.

Molly and I are so worried for Karen's future. If she is this aggressive and inappropriate under our watchful eye, how was she acting in previous situations if she was unsupervised? We contacted the woman who was caring for Karen most recently. As I assumed, this behavior is not new. The previous caregiver found Karen acting out sexually with a younger boy, but did not mention it to Molly.

It seems clear the behavior came about as a result of sexual abuse. Karen didn't have these sexualized behaviors three years ago when Molly lived at the ministry with Karen. These are new and very unhealthy behaviors. The new placement is still willing to take Karen, but if she acts out sexually she will have to leave. At this point it seems Karen could soon end up in a mental hospital or behind bars. It is so sad.