Prayer Request for my Aunt.

It is with great sadness that I begin to write this post. No, my aunt has not passed away, but her life has been marked as meaningless.

Let me begin with the story. . some of you are aware of the details, but I ask for patience as I explain the situation to those who are not aware.

My aunt fell in July of 2009 and suffered a severe head injury, she has endured two surgeries- one was the result of a MRSA infection, and multiple setbacks. She is a fighter and at 85 (86 in May) she is lucky to be alive. During all of this, a step daughter of about four years showed up with documentation claiming to be her healthcare power of Attorney (HCPOA) and financial power of attorney. And, the nightmare began.

I have not written many details or blogged about this situation in particular as we were in a legal battle to obtain custody of my aunt. Now, you may ask why not let the stepdaugher handle this? Well, it is due to the fact she doesn't handle it! She has not fought for my aunt to receive ongoing therapy (PT, OT, speech). She has attempted to allienate staff against our family visiting my aunt or offering advice. Her own sister calls her "mean" and says that she has always been that way towards others. Honestly, she reminds me of a very bittered soul! She refuses to allow family members to know about my aunt's status, does not keep family updated, and has been down right rude to both my aunt and our family. The shame, my aunt financially can pay for her ongoing therapy, etc. Yet, this stepdaugther does not allow this to happen. If it were not for my sister, my aunt would be dead. My aunt was literally lying there with nasty wound drainage (sorry for the non-medical folks) and no one was listening. My sister arrived at the hospital early one morning and begged the on-call physician to please repeat the CT scan. It was repeated and the mass of infection was discovered. Multiple family members had reported this to staff members, attempted to talk with the stepdaughter and the pleas were ignored. My aunt had continued with seizures, mental status changes, and oozing from her wound. . . and it was never cultured. It was discovered on the CT. Yet, the stepdaughter accuses us of interfering, preventing out aunt from receiving optimal care. . .

She is now in a long term facility. I won't go into many details of that place, but I will say that staff frequently fail to set the bed alarms and as a result my aunt has fallen. The stepdaughter has failed to follow up with this and make certain they provide her with safe care.

My family has taken the time and made the effort to work with her. . .and we believe she deserves to have a chance at rehabilitation- and would desire it. Yet, the stepdaugther refuses to fight the system.

To my knowledge, she is not a christian. Therefore, begins her biggest problem. I have strived to pray for her- and some days I just can't. It is truly an act of obedience to God when I do. I know that I will never change this person. I know that MY GOD IS ABLE to change her! And, I am trusting him to take care of the details!

Please be specific and add this to your prayer list!