Chapter One
My Great Loss
N
ovember 13, 2016, was the worst day of my life! It was my third postoperative day following knee surgery, the day any nurse will tell you is one of the most difficult. But that paled in comparison to what happened next. That was the day I experienced my great loss. My adult daughter, my only child, died unexpectedly that day, and it felt like a large part of me died along with her. The Story of My Great Loss Eight years prior to her death, my daughter was brutally raped and robbed. She developed post-traumatic stress syndrome with agoraphobia, severe anxiety, and depression in the aftermath of this event. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder in which individuals avoid situations and places where they might feel trapped. This condition became so difficult for my daughter that she became afraid to leave the house. This condition can last for several years or even be lifelong. Feeling helpless, I brought my daughter home to live with me again. She was under the care of a psychiatrist and heavily medicated to control 13
