The police were involved every day. They kept calling and saying, "Watch out for this person, watch out for your neighbor, watch out for somebody who knows you. Pay attention because normally somebody comes to the crime scene."
That afternoon, I go outside just for a brief minute to get some fresh air. A man stops by in a truck. He said, "Are you OK? I hear you were robbed." I look at this man, frightened. He looked like a bad person, tattoos, bandana, and a beaten up car. I give the information to the police and sure enough, he has been somebody they had been trying to find for five years and although he supposedly had nothing to do with our robbery, why did he show up at my door the next day?
As the next few days passed, I get a call from London that my mother had had a stroke. I leave for London , not worrying about myself, and didn't tell my mother a word. My daughter flew with me and I was feeling very scared and very unsafe. The airport was an out of body experience. I just remember being guided through the terminal. I don't remember how I got to London . But reality hit when I saw my mother and all I could do was put on a fake smile and spend the next week focusing all my energy on her.
When I got back to America , all of my friends had their own opinions about what I should do to feel better. Most of them said, "The best thing you can do is go to work." So eventually I pulled up my big girl panties, put on my lipstick and attempted to face the "real" world. At the time, I ran a huge medical practice in Beverly Hills , with 15 doctors and 50 employees. The first day back I was so scared that I retreated to my office, unable to speak, unable to be me. This once outgoing, together woman had been stripped down to a frightened child. I was there in presence but not in mind. As long as I was there the doctors didn't seem to mind. So I just floated through each day. I was delving into a deeper, darker hole, becoming increasingly anxious, and eating less and less.
I was at the weakest point in my life a few months later, when I actually decided to go on disability because I was so sick. I could not take care of anybody, let alone myself. Every petty issue in the office or daily task seemed irritating and too difficult to handle. I needed to spend time trying to heal myself. I knew I was no good to my family and staff this way. I also needed to find answers to why this robbery had happened to us, so wound up assisting the police department as much as I could with the case.
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