Friday, November 15, 2013

Time to Quander

I ask the indulgence and prayers of readers of all my blogs. Other than for an occasional, already-written post or the Monday Morning Meditation (I never miss an "appointment" with God and right now that is especially important to me), I will be taking a week or so off to quander (ponder a quandary).

Donnie received a shocking call today from the work place of Doah, our youngest son, who lives in a group home for the mentally challenged, and immediately called me: Doah had been raped. I immediately left work, and we headed north. We met with the sheriff's department, the folks from Doah's workplace in whom Doah had confided, doctors and nurses, an advocate for victims of violent crimes, and Doah himself. Doah went through five hours of medical tests and over an hour of interrogation from the sheriff's department. The medical staff said that Doah inspired them with his obviously deep faith that gave him an extraordinary resiliance. The deputy told Doah that he was the best crime victim he had ever met -- Doah was straightforward and explicit, got the details right, and did not back down from uncomfortable truth. By the time the evening was over, the deputies had tracked down the alleged rapist, an illegal alien without documents who seemed to have disappeared according to everyone who knew him, and had him behind bars. Impressive! So was the orderly procedure and all the help made available to us.

Nonetheless, this event has thrown our lives out of kilter, and I need some time to put things back together. We have brought Doah home with us until we can find another group home for him. We have to decide on any legal action we wish to take against the group home -- a difficult decision because I am suit-averse by nature. There is also more testing to do and results of testing to receive: hepatitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV/AIDS. The latter is very frightening and very possible. I am asking all our friends to pray that Doah passes through this terrible experience without contracting HIV/AIDS as a permanent reminder and life-threatening consequence.

Thank you for your understanding and any prayers you are willing to say for Doah (or candles you are willing to light). God bless you until I am up and running regularly again.

17 comments:

  1. My prayers are with you and your whole family. I am just so sorry that such evil touched your lives...I will light a candle for Doah today.
    May God bless you all in this difficult time.

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  2. Hi Elizabeth,

    I have no words that convey my concern for Doah, you and your family; all of you are in my prayers sister.

    Blessings and peace.

    MTJ

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  3. My prayers are with you, Doah, and your family during this challenging time.

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  4. I am praying also. What a terrible thing to happen to anyone, but especially to one so innocent. I will pray.

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  5. Dear Elizabeth,
    My prayers are with you, Doah, and your entire family. May you all continue to know God's great love for you througout all this time. He has not and will not abandon you. This hits home to me particularly because I have an autistic sister who lives in a group home. I pray now that she is safe, but it has not always been so. Trusting God can be so hard for me in this situation, and discerning where to go next is difficult. My prayers and thoughts are with you. Love, Mom with a Heart for God

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  6. I am so terribly sorry. My prayers are with you and your family. God bless.

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  7. I am so sorry to hear about Doah having to experience such a horrible and evil deed. My prayers are with him and with you and your husband. Love in Christ Dee

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  8. I am so terribly sorry to hear your news. I will pray for Doah and your whole family.

    God bless you now and always.

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  9. Elizabeth, from reading your blog almost everyday I feel like I know Doah, I am heartsick over this, please know that my prayers are with you now. I will also pray for a new safe place for him to live. Lori

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  10. Betty, my heart reaches out to you and your family. I can't even find words as I am simply astonished. Almost like described on my bird story. Praying for Doah.

    (((( hugs ))))

    Doris

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  11. Many thanks to all of you for your kind words, prayers, and candles. I am sorry that I have not had time to respond individually. I could never have imaged all the fall-out from something like this, and I will provide an update soon. Doah is coping pretty well. I am going back to work on Tuesday part-days. We will take it a day at a time after that.

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  12. Dear Elizabeth,

    I am so, so sorry about Doah. I just cannot fathom it, and yet you and your family must cope with it. I am praying so that God will wrap you in his arms as you deal with this tragedy.

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  13. Thank you, Anne, for your prayers. Yes, indeed, we must cope, and yes, it is unfathomable. Something went very, very wrong in that group home. The State of California has launched a formal investigation. (There is concern not only for Doah but also for others who may have been affected but had no parents to involve.) Meanwhile, part of coping for me is getting changes made in protocols and the following of them, and we are pushing for those changes (and being heard).

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  14. Dear Elizabeth, I am so shocked upon reading this. What a terrible this to hapen to innocent Doah.

    May the Lord heal and protect him from all emotional an d physical harm.

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  15. Oh gosh Elizabeth, Doah certainly did not deserve this......I am praying for him, and all of you......and yes even that horrble man who committed such an act on an innocent. This man needs to be locked up, helped and prayed for, but he must never be in a position to do something like this again ever......many hugs from Canada and a big hug to Doah......:-)

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  16. I am so sorry, Elizabeth! (I only just read this now...) You, Doah, and the rest of your family are in my thoughts.

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