Just One More Thing. . . . .

"Why do bad things happen to good people?" has become a burning question in my life as of late. I have a sister, Janet, for those of you who don't know, who has many issues--the first of which are developmental disabilities (borderline--she is very high functioning) and mental illness--bipolar, depression, anxiety, obsessive/compulsive, and dependent personality disorder. As if that is not enough, last May, the quiet little town in Kansas she lived in, was 90% destroyed by a tornado. She had no place to go since her apartment was also destroyed, so we (Sarah, two month old Tanner, and I) drove to Kansas to pick her up. We are her only relatives, with the exception of a few cousins and a 96 year old uncle. After the long drive out here, we settled her in a nice little apartment here in Rancho Santa Margarita. Now we have spent the last year struggling with Social Security, Medicare, CalOptima, etc, etc, until I can't see straight! (I did mention in my last blog that I am the worst at paperwork?)
Certainly moving to Southern California is not the worst of things that could happen to a person! There is more. I failed to mention, September 2006, Janet fell and shattered her left elbow, had to have three surgeries in 4 weeks, and spent a long period in a cast--during which time she was staying in a nursing facility which she hated, and some one there wasn't paying attention. As a result, her fingers became frozen around her cast and are now at least 75% useless. She is also being treated for osteoporosis, high cholesterol, and a thyroid condition. Amidst the hassle of finding doctors in our area who will take her insurance, we did see my internist who wants her to go to a neurologist to be evaluated for Parkinson's.
When she arrived here, she was a basket case, (who wouldn't be?) with surviving a class F5 tornado and losing not only most of your possessions, but your entire way of life. We began seeing my counselor to help her with the transition and the grief process. She recommended we look into College Hospital. We got her placed in their day program which involves group therapy. After 6 or 7 months, her case manager decided the program really wasn't what Janet needed. She suggested we apply for Regional Center. After hours of paperwork and a drive to Santa Ana for an intake interview, I'm sure you guessed it--she was denied services. So now Janet is attending a Senior Day Care Program 3 days a week--which she also hates. I continue to look for other options, one dead end after another.
The last straw came last Monday. About a month ago, Janet's glasses broke--they were several years old. Well, Monday, we finally went to the eye doctor. The bad news--she has lost most of the vision in her right eye due to a ruptured blood vein. There is nothing that can be done for it. Thankfully, CalOptima will pay for her new glasses--which will take at least three weeks! My heart just breaks for her--so many things seem to keep happening to her. We do what we can to provide a nice home and things to do--we include her in most of what we do. But seriously, God forgive me, I can't help but ask, why?