He said they’d say he was a bad father.”

“Why would he say that?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“I thought he just didn’t like doctors.”

Then Maribel came back, accompanied by a woman with a small notebook and a gentle voice.

Her badge identified her as Elise Morgan, hospital social worker.

“Paula,” she said, “we’d like to talk through a safe plan for your family while the medical team cares for Sadie.”

I looked at my daughter.