Trail   of  healing  101   begins       For  Jan  3rd   2016

LETTER TO THE AUTHOR:

Dr Shaikh,

I want to let every woman out there know that they are not alone and there is help out there for us – we just need to reach out and ask for help and talk about what is going on or what happens in your life.  I have see first hand what happens to someone when they didn’t reach out for help.  My best friend was one of them.  She was going through so much she was abused, raped and beaten by a family member but whe would not go get help.  She kept on telling me she had control of everything.  She got married in 1986 and had a son in March of 1987.  She owns her own hair salon.  She and her husband owned there own home.  She had everything she ever wanted.  That is what she thought.  Just like all of us.  She never did drugs or drink.  One day on a Saturday, she and I were meeting each other for dinner.  When I got to the resturaunt and I was waiting for her we were supposed to meet at 6:00 and she never showed up.  When I called her, I got no answer so I called her husband at his job and he told me to call her mother’s house because she was taking her son there before meeting me.  When I called her mother, she said she hasn’t seen her and she has been calling as well.  I told her I would go to her house to make sure everything is alright.  When I got there the door was hanging half open.  I opened the screen door and yelled for her.  I got no answer, all I heard was her son screaming and crying.   I went in and picked him up and walked back the hall yelling her name.  So I got to her beadroom door and I could not open it – something was blocking it, so I went through her bathroom to enter the bedroom.  When I got there I saw her lying on the floor.  When I went over to her, there was no pulse, so I started CPR and Called 911.  They operator was telling me what to do .  When the medics arrived they took over.  They took her to the hospital but they could not bring her back.  She had overdosed on heroin – which was planned because she left a note for her husband telling him she was sorry but she could not take anymore and that this was the way she could be at peace.  She never did drugs in her life.  She was hurting so bad and thought she could just move on with her life and everything would be alright.  I begged her to go get help and she would always tell me that nobody would understand and they would just judge her.  I just want to let all women out there know that there are people out there who’ve been where we are.  I lost my best friend in a split second and I don’t want to see that happen to anyone else.  So speak up and be heard.  We can do this together.

Tammy Echols