People always say that and normally it’s not a problem for me, but lately it’s been a problem.
Long story short, I’m feeling very angry and betrayed by my children’s former babysitter, who allowed my daughter to be severely injured while in her care and didn’t even bother get her help or even call me until I got there to pick her up. My daughter was in the hospital for two weeks and suffered a great deal because of her negligence and during that time and until the present, the babysitter hasn’t apologized, visited my daughter, or even sent a Get Well card.
During the day I have enough things to do to keep me busy and I don’t think about my resentment, and I’m usually tired enough that I fall asleep right away at night, but when I wake up in the middle of the night for whatever reason, but especially when one of my kids wake me up, I can’t help but think about what could have happened, how my daughter might have been killed, how she might have been crying and asking for help the whole time she was at the sitter waiting for me to come get her, the permanent results of her injury, and I can’t help but get really mad and I can’t go back to sleep. Does anyone have a short, easy to memorize prayer that they can recommend for this situation, to help me get back to sleep?
Of course you have these feelings. It’s perfectly normal to feel angry and betrayed because you entrusted your child into the babysitter’s care and look what has resulted. What happened to your little one is very traumatizing. Reading this post and some of your others on this thread makes me wonder if you have a touch of PTSD starting (which makes perfect sense in light of all you went through). Hopefully it hasn’t gone that far and is still just generalized anxiety over the situation. Speaking with a counselor might help.
I can’t imagine the gamut of emotions you must be feeling. I know that if I had such an experience, I would be absolutely terrified to leave my child with anybody.
That said, it doesn’t surprise me that the former babysitter hasn’t made any “get Well” gestures or apologized. Seeing that your child was seriously injured, that there could be long-term ramifications for your child’s health, and that the sitter’s homeowners insurance is involved, she was probably told **not ** to contact you in any way, because doing so could be problematic for her and the insurance company from a legal standpoint. It’s not uncommon for people to be told by their attorney/insurer not to apologize, send flowers/condolences, etc because it can be considered an admission of guilt in a court of law.
Speaking of attorneys and court, I don’t mean to intrude here and please forgive me if I am over-stepping my bounds, but as a mom who suffered terribly in an accident years ago, I had legal counsel and received a settlement offer. I recommend that you do seek board-certified legal counsel on behalf of your daughter. You don’t know what the long-term ramifications for your baby might be because of the sitter’s negligence. And it really was negligent behavior. That sitter needed to contact you asap at the first mention that your little one had swallowed something.
(I say this because as a parent of many I had a similar experience with a toddler potentially having swallowed a small toy of an older sibling. We took said toddler to the hospital asap and luckily it was a false alarm. It wasn’t convenient, but better safe than sorry.)
I’ve been praying for you, your baby and family since I read your thread in the parenting section.
Prayers that have helped me when I feel anxious:
Sacred heart of Jesus, I place my trust in you.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Hail Mary
I pray that you find healing and peace. This is going to take time though. Maybe journaling your feelings might help. (((((Allegra)))))
