“Then he said you had a problem with medication.

When the hospital reached me, I started calling him.

He didn’t pick up.”

I asked why he’d lied.

“I can’t answer that for him.

But I can tell you this isn’t something you caused.”

After meeting the child-protection worker and discussing a temporary safety arrangement, Colleen told me she was willing to have me stay with her if the authorities approved.

It wasn’t a magic solution.