tw: mental health issues, child neglect
[name_u]Cadence[/name_u] " [name_f]Cady[/name_f] " [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] Milligan (14) is Pearlās elder child and first adoptee in her home. The placement was decided because of Cadyās own familial background: her mother had severe postpartum psychosis, leading to her abandoning her daughter alone for hours at a time as she went looking for imagined āsavioursā who could protect them from her hallucinations. After a neighbour became aware that [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was left alone for prolonged periods of time, CPS were contacted and she was taken into their care with immediate effect. Her biological mother was hospitalised and remains there now. Sheās become much more stable than when [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was little, but clearly cannot live independently thanks to how severely her breakdown affected her, and the fact she asks to take custody of her child again concerned staff thanks to how her delusions persist. There was an attempt to place [name_f]Cady[/name_f] with her biological father in the aftermath, but he was openly disinterested in parenting and actually told her social worker as such, leading to it being decided an alternate option was preferential. This is how [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] ended up being contacted, thanks to her own understanding of mental health issues adjacent to pregnancy, and her interest in adopting. [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was 3 by the time this happened - having been in foster care for almost 2 years - and it would be several years before [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] adopted again, to ensure she settled properly.
Now a preteen, [name_f]Cady[/name_f] loves little more than sports: baseball, running track, gymnastics, netball - you name it, sheāll have tried it and probably enjoyed it. Team sports especially appeal to her because sheās quite an outgoing person who loves building up others and encouraging them to work together. This is only challenged by how much [name_f]Cady[/name_f] adores the family cat - a ginger tom named Marmalade, who was found by her one day when she was spending the afternoon with [name_u]Arrow[/name_u] and [name_u]Archer[/name_u]. After some deliberation, it was agreed [name_f]Cady[/name_f] could keep him - in part as the older two couldnāt bear her disappointment, as she instantly adored the grumpy beast - and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] was happy with this suggestion, as her daughter was 10 and had proved herself responsible enough to care for him. She has a lot of friends in the neighbourhood where they live and her mom jokes you canāt find [name_f]Cady[/name_f] on a weekend because sheās attending a sleepover: not untrue, sheās absolutely mad about them. Arrowās someone she greatly admires - itās no secret how much [name_f]Cady[/name_f] wants a nose piercing, but right now Pearlās firm sheās too young - and sheās pleased to have her own friend group of 4 mirroring the Crackheads [although they donāt have a nickname yet]. Her memories of childhood are mostly faint - something [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is grateful for given what [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was witness to, from both her biological parents - but she has wondered about visiting her birth mother someday. Cadyās therapist has advised against this for the time being - because her motherās still quite unwell - but is keeping tabs so she can make contact if it becomes appropriate and she feels ready. Still, this pales in comparison to how absolutely she loves her mom and considers her the greatest woman she knows.