[Elysium]

My day started at 3am this morning when I was awakened from a very nice sleep by the sounds of a woman screaming. My bedroom window was open and at first I thought I was dreaming and I was only half awake, but she kept screaming and crying and it kept getting louder. Then I heard someone yell "Call the Cops!!" When I heard this, I bolted awake because I knew that I was really hearing this and not dreaming. I ran to my window and I could hear men yelling too. After a minute, I saw a woman come running from behind one of the buildings in my complex, out into the street and she was still crying and screaming as she ran. I called out to her and asked if she was okay....Duh, but I was still sleeping I think...and she screamed "No, No" and kept running down the street until I couldn't see her anymore. I had my cell phone and was on the phone with 911 telling them what I was hearing and what I was seeing. Then, a man came out from behind the same building and just stood across the street staring at my window and I realized he was listening to what I was saying on the phone.

The police and paramedics came, and ultimately the woman was found. I guess there were a couple Marines who didn't live in our complex and they were in this lady's apartment. They shoved her in a closet and then barricaded her in her bedroom. She was on the second floor and ended up popping out her screen and jumping from her window. I was soooo scared for her, and this was totally triggering to me....not to mention by the time I got done giving the police my statement, it was 5am, which is the time I have to get up for work. I was irritated too because when I walked close to the woman and asked her if she was alright, one of the Cops said in a nasty tone "We don't need you over here right now!!" I was miffed because I was awakened from a dead sleep at 3am, scared out of my mind over what I had just heard and witnessed, and I want to make sure my community stays safe. I have a difficult time living somewhere where violence or trauma has taken place. I get triggered and want to run away. I really hope that the woman is okay tonight....and I hope I never wake up like that again.

The day didn't get much better. When I got to work, me and my co-workers were informed that two of our Staff members had been in a car accident on Friday night. One was ejected from the car and survived, but needed emergency surgery; the other one died at the scene. He was only 25 yrs old.

Sorry for the downer...I just needed someplace to get this out. It was just a long, triggering, and sad day...

[Yoda]

major bummer of a day

[eskielover]

(((((Elysium))))),

I am so sorry that you had such a sad & triggering day. What a wonderful thing that you did this morning though with being able to make the 911 call & give them all the information you could about what you saw. I know waking up out of a deep sleep leaves me in sort of a daze for awhile & it's difficult to figure out that there is even a need to do something.....so taking the necessary action to handle the situation was a very good in spite of all the triggers involved.

I know how important it feels to be an involved neighbor. How lucky she was to have you as a neighbor & not someone who would ignore because they "don't want to get involved".

I am sorry that the police treated you in the gruff way they did. For some reason the police seem to have that trait as I have experienced similar treatment.

I am so sorry that you lost a staff member where you work. That on top of the trauma you experienced in the morning definitely had to make it a difficult day for you & I am sure you are emotionally drained at this point.

Try to be good to yourself & get a good night's sleep to give your mind some healing time after such a difficult day & hope you will be able to feel some level of relaxation & peace while emotionally recovering from such a difficult day.

[splitimage]

(((Elysium)))

What a horrible day for you. You should however feel good that you had the wherewithall to call 911 and help that poor woman out. I'm sorry the cops were gruff with you - they do seem to be trained that way.

And I'm really sorry about you're coworkers. That's a tragedy. I hope you're able to process your emotions and grieve safely.

I hope you have a better night tonight and a better day tomorrow.

--splitimage

Hello, Elysium. You are in my thoughts.

[Queen of Chaos]

I had a mild version of a very similar day, Elysium. At 2:30 this morning, someone tried to knock down my neighbor's front door. They didn't do it, the police were here in 2 minutes, but the person was never found and everyone in the neighborhood has been upset all day.

Something like that, something that is so traumatic and happens so fast, is hard to get past. I'm amazed you were able to go to work. We've lived in our quiet little subdivision for 40 years and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened. I wasn't even directly involved but I've still felt shaken all day.

Tomorrow, hopefully, will be a much better day. I hope you can rest tonight but what happened might come back to haunt your thoughts tonight and make sleep impossible.