Lies of omission are lies nevertheless

This blog is really the only way Tracy and I have to know what happening with Sara day to day. Until recently, we trusted that what was represented here was the truth. We found out last weekend that either Kristina is lying to us about what she has discussed with Sara, what Sara has said, or that Sara is telling her mother what she wants her to hear, and telling us something different.

Kristina claims in today’s posting that she “ask[ed] her if she was looking forward to seeing Tracy and Denise, Mike and then Daniel…” What she did not tell you all here is that she called last evening and told us that Sara didn’t want to see her father. And as far as I know, no reason was given. Enlighten us, since Sara can’t speak to us for herself?

This was Kristina’s post on January 9th:
This is our medical system in operation... You can get really fine care, tip-top nursing - but only if you have insurance...and only if the insurance company doesn't drop you after starting to pay for fine care, and tip-top nursing. And, as I have recently found out, the benefits provided by the federal government and state are enough to keep you basically alive, but don't mess up the paperwork or forget to send something in on time...

The federal government is not a charity, and health care is not one of the inalienable rights in the constitution. Kristina, you made the choice not to have insurance—neither you nor Sara had any insurance on her! Second, you have not paid a thing toward her care, which probably exceeds over a quarter of a million dollars by now. The first day alone was nearly $110,000! You don’t even need to see the paperwork—all the “Explanation of Benefits” comes to me. And you have the gall to criticize Kaiser. Where do you think Sara would be today if I hadn’t kept her on my insurance as long as I was able to without her permission? She even had the audacity to argue with me when, on her eighteenth birthday, I told her that I wanted to keep her on my insurance until she was out of college—all I needed was verification of her student status. She refused—“I don’t need your insurance, I don’t want your insurance, I’m a very healthy person. I’ll get my own insurance!”

It was a different tune after the accident though, eh? It was only my successful pleading with the staff of the Alameda County Human Services that reinstated her on my Kaiser, since her nineteenth birthday had gone by and she was scheduled to be dropped on the last day of the month of October. At first, they were more concerned about preserving her “privacy” than keeping her alive. The only reason they relented was because she was at that very minute undergoing brain surgery, and was incapable of giving consent. Then with the assistance of the Registrar at Santa Rosa Junior College, Tracy and I were able to get the information they needed—but not without an argument. “Why didn’t Sara give you a copy of her schedule in August when we asked for it?” What was I to answer? I don’t remember what I told them, but it wasn’t what I was thinking—that I was only important to her if I could help her cheat death.