posted October 20, 2008 06:25 PM         

Hi everyone, I'm in Italy right now and I cannot tell you how comforting it is to be back on Lindaland, reading all your replies.

Something terrible happened. Yesterday was our first day in Italy. (one of my female friends and I) We were having dinner outside in the Travestere area and a man and his doberman walked by. He stopped to let us pet the dog. We were a little tipsy, and my friend asked if we could take a picture with the dog. She's had a great compassion and love of animals since she was young. When she was posing for the picture, the dog seemed nervous and was hiding behind his owner.

We felt the dog was a little nervous, so we sat back down without taking the picture. The owner insisted and said it was ok. He brought the dog around again, and my friend stood next to the dog and posed for the picture. In a split second, I heard a loud bark and my friend was on the floor a few feet away. It happened so fast. I ran over to her, and she said the dog bit her. I didn't see any marks, but then her lip split wide open all the way to her nose, and blood started gushing down.

I panicked and yelled for someone to get help. The restaurant brought a cloth with some ice, but it was bleeding profusely. My friend was screaming about her face, and asking if it was bad. I didn't want her to panic so I tried to comfort her, even though inside I was so scared. It was a large gash that went right through to the inside of her mouth. The screaming, the crying, the panic of all the people.

The owner of the dog brought his car around and drove us to a nearby hospital. My friend kept taking the cloth off and asking me to look at it, and tell her if it was bad and would scar. It was such a huge gash, and was so hard for me to keep looking everytime she asked me. But I told her it wasn't bad and that it may not scar. In the emergency room, no one spoke english. We were waiting and waiting and she then start screaming and crying saying that no one will love her now that she will have a scar right on her face. She kept saying that now she will be ugly, and was bawling, and bawling with such anguish and sorrow. It hit straight to a place in my heart and I could barely contain myself.

When she went into the treatment room they wouldnt let me come with her. I was outside in the waiting room, with the owner's wife and needed some air. I went outside and then broke down and started to cry. I cried so much I couldn't breathe, and the gasping for air made me so lightheaded my hands and feet started to tingle. Then my whole body started to tingle, and I started to see white flashes everywhere, and I got so afraid.

I tried to calm myself down, and centered my breathing finally, and feeling returned to my hands and feet. I looked around at the dark trees and the river in front of me, and all of a sudden felt such coldness. I felt so helpless. I felt like this world just operates on its own, and we have no control. Then i did something, I've never done before.

I called out for angels. I asked those angels to please come and help me. To please help me understand, because I didn't understand. No one answered...

Then I was called back in, and it was the beginning of a loooong night. After my friend got stitched up and released, the man didnt want to give us his information, and wanted to just go so we could never find him again. He was definitely shady. I asked the hospital to please call the police so we could file a report. I asked th orderly, and the ambulance man, but no one helped. They were only trying to help the man, and not us because we were foreigners. They wouldnt even give us a copy of the hospital record. I felt helpless like I was in some horrible movie where everyone is plotting against us. What made it worse that my friend kept screaming at me to do something about this. She was just standing there and not even helping me, expecting me to work out everything.

He kept asking for our hotel information, and I sensed something was not right. I'm so scared he is capable of bad things, or part of some organized crime family, and will try to track us down. So now I am trying to get a flight back home asap. I am afraid for my life and my family back home because the hotel has all my personal information. I get a very bad feeling from all of this.

I've been running around all day for my friend, going to the Farmacia, then the Canadian embassy, then again to the hospital. I've spent over 200 Euros in cab rides alone. The cost to change my flight is over $2000. I have not had a bite to eat, and haven't slept in 2 days. I feel like I'm in hell. Then I am trying to be strong for my friend, but I am scared too. Terrified actually.

I want to leave, but she wont let me. She keeps asking me to do everything for her, even though she is capable of doing everything. She makes me feel guilty for wanting to leave, and is trying to convince me to stay until Wednesday, so I can go with her to file a report.

I feel like such a crap friend, but I'm scared, and want to get home. My intuition is telling me to get out of here, but she keeps begging me to stay. What should I do? Am I in danger? Am I going to die? Is my family in danger? Should I stay here for my friend or go home?

I'm so confused. Sorry for the long rant, but I'm on my last ounce of sanity!

posted October 20, 2008 06:37 PM         

You don't understand your environment and so you want to flee.

This is an ugly situation. Your friend is hysterical so you need to take charge.
But tell her you are not doing this until she stops screaming because she is making you panic and this is not helping anyone.

And then calmly go to the hospital and the police with a solicitor and tell them you want to file a complaint.

I know it's hideous but don't leave her.
Imagine if it was yourself and you were alone in a strange country with your face bitten off.
Now it's time to step up. I know it's easy for me to say but I think this is the only option you have.
Stay calm.
And know that hideous though it is it will end in a few days.
You can come out of this well or badly depending on whether you run or stay.

posted October 20, 2008 06:45 PM         

Bunnies is right. You need to take charge and be brave. Have faith that everything will be alright. Please don't think about the Uranus transit thingie because you might be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And please EAT and get some REST. Your mind and body won't function well without fuel.

I think staying with a friend in need is the honorable thing to do.

posted October 20, 2008 08:00 PM         

I went through a tough situation with an ex whether to stay or leave. I asked angels amd guides for help. I asked for a definite intuitive lead and the courage to act and it helped me make the right decision. Asking angels ,for me, was simply writing a note to them asking for help to stay or leave.

Wrote the note on a crowded train in the morning. I felt so torn and that was my insanity - to stay or leave - the relationship. I let decision go and went about my day. I was given an intuitive lead. Intuitive lead, was on my lunch break from work at a book store that I felt intutively drawn to enter. Feeling drawn to this book shop I felt compelled to open this book, Edgar Cayce Soul Mates, and instinctly knew that was the answer to my sanity - whether to stay or leave the relationship - it was a book that I randomly opened. The story, women who left her husband and gave her husband to another women, gave me the self-confidence to act on intuitive lead.

The message, sign post, from my angels and guides was this ( Edgar Cayce's book on Soul Mates) I deserved better, happiness and love, and I didn't have to settle for crumbs. Ex, was not my Soul Mate but I thought that we were -denial.I acted on angels message that afternoon and rang the ex. I told him that I was giving him to all the other women. Also, that I was leaving and wanted to arrange a time, place and date to pick up his stuff.

I felt scared and nervous as I called him from work. It wasn't easy listening to my intuition and acting on it. But, it was like this inner knowing and clarity came from story, women who had the courage to leave her husband, from Edgar Cayce's Soul Mate book. The story broke through my denial, that is, wishing and hoping that things would get better. But, angels and guides signposts and angels - guide unconditional love helped me reach a tough decison by trusting my intuition and acting on it. I left. It was the best decision that I made even though I was afraid of the unknown.

Now, I embrace the unknown and know that I am not alone. That gave me the strength and hope for my future inner knowing that I am not alone.

Angels and guides fit like an individual velvet glove ie, miracles of love in action. Angels and guides helped me, hand in hand -trembling sometimes- walk through my own fears. I smile on the inside. New romance? Who knows what will unfold beyond the horizon of safety and the known. Yes, angels and guides fit like a velvet glove tailored beyond the astrological charts and aspects. That's what I have come to experience.

posted October 21, 2008 03:31 AM         

quote:

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I feel like such a crap friend, but I'm scared, and want to get home. My intuition is telling me to get out of here, but she keeps begging me to stay. What should I do? Am I in danger? Am I going to die? Is my family in danger? Should I stay here for my friend or go home?

---

You are NOT in danger. You are definitely NOT going to die. Your family, in Canada has no reason whatsoever to be in danger.

You are feeling this way because of the after shock from what happened. Trust me, from an outside perspective this situation is not nearly as bad or crazy as it seems to you right now.

Something horrible happened. You can't make sense of it and you want an explanation so your mind is just looking for one.

Dogs are animals. They do BITE, specially if something makes them uncomfortable. It happens. It happened to your friend.. It's an awful situation to be in whilst travelling to a foreign country. But it is not a strange situation. It is not bizarre. It is not a matter of life or death. NOBODY is dying, neither you NOR your friend.

It's extremely unlikely that this guy would be part of an organized crime family. There are many movies dealing with the Italian mafia (which may be why you thought of this). I very strongly doubt this is the case. He's just a guy with a dog, who looks shady. He is a coward. He wanted to cover his own ass, period. He might have even paid the doctors. There really isn't much else to it.

About your friend, lets put things in perspective. It is a lip bite. It is stitched up. It may or may not scar - but for now, it's not killing her so physically, she is OK. It will either heal nicely OR not. If it doesn't, then she may need plastic surgery. In any event, it will not impact her entre life. I am absolutely certain that whatever happened CAN and will be fixed in the months to come.

quote:

---

I want to leave, but she wont let me. She keeps asking me to do everything for her, even though she is capable of doing everything. She makes me feel guilty for wanting to leave, and is trying to convince me to stay until Wednesday, so I can go with her to file a report.

Should I stay here for my friend or go home?

---

First of all, try to relax and stop panicking. There is nothing for you to be afraid of. Take deep breaths in and out and try to keep as calm as possible. You need to get some sleep. Sleeping is very important in stressful situations.

There is no immediate reason for you to leave. You can stay until Wednesday for her to file the report. I think this may be important, even if the guy doesn't get caught. It’s probably better for her to have some closure and a police report will feel like she did something to end the situation.

However, in my opinion it would be much better for both of you to be in Canada right now and for her to be seen by her own doctor and to be amongst people she KNOWS and TRUSTS. You should travel back to Canada with her, towards the end of the week. There is absolutely no way, she should stay there on her own. She is highly unstable right now and she is seeing the situation as much worse than it actually is (thinking she is maimed for life etc). She may do something stupid.

Like Bunnies said, this will end in a few days, but you really need to be a strong person right now. You can't bail and leave today.. you need to stick with things for the week and you also need to make sure that you *both* return to Canada.

You're a strong person. You went through this entire situation and you took all the right steps. You made sure she got to a hospital. You did everything you could at the hospital to get his address and get help from the doctors. You went to the embassy, within the next days. You went to the pharmacy for her. You told her what she needed to hear when she asked you about the scar. You just need to stick with it, for the week. I am sure that you will be fine, and you will both be back home, by the start of next week.

posted October 21, 2008 05:47 AM         

I'm in a place where I cannot communicate to the people, and everything seems beyond my control. After I had dinner last night, I calmed down a little and thought things through. I came to the decision to stay here with my friend and see her through this.

Fight or flight?

Bunnies, you are so right...my initial reaction was flight. Thinking about this more in depth, this applies to my whole life, and not just this situation. Something happens, my first reaction is RUN!

This time, with the help of everyone who so lovingly responded to my plea for help, I came to the realization that I must be strong, and stay, and deal with the situation at hand. This is real life...dealing with situations...even if I have to call for help, from friends, angels, God, or whoever I need to get me through.

Saronna, thank you for sharing your personal experience with angels. I didn't want to seem crazy that I called upon angels, but I read about them in a book.. I think I was waiting for them to show up literally, like a big white light or someting, and was disapointed when nothing came. But as with your experience, it was more like they started guiding me through my own thoughts and intuition, leading to subtle signs, like when you felt like you had to walk into a book store, and there was your answer.

I was on the computer last night checking my email, and I suddenly wanted to swing by Lindaland to get my mind off the current situation. Then I just started writing everything out in a thread, and it really helped me. And all of the replies really heled me. All of the posts were like little messages by angels, supporting me and cheering me on. Showing me the right thing to do. i am so proud of your bravery in leaving a bad situation, and for having faith in yourself and your intuition. I think sometimes the hardest thing to do, is to trust something you cannot see, hear or touch, like a gut feeling. I hope you are happier for it, and that you never look back!

So, here I am in Italy. My friend and I are going to the canadian embassy today, then to the police station, then maybe see the Colloseum. I am still scared, and didn't sleep at all last night because every sound from the hall made me jump. I think I keep getting images of Sopranos episodes where the mafia come hunt down the people who p***** them off, and torture and kill them. I think i will stop watching so much tv.

posted October 21, 2008 01:46 PM         

I am discovering that I need to learn moderation and find the right balance, for me, in my life. I joined a yoga class and I am stiff from the workout...relaxing but tough class...lol. It was my first class so I will keep coming back and practice co ordinating my moves! Maybe, yoga will help me with balance. It's a libra cusp scorpio thing.

What I have found helpful is having an activities management plan and being organised. But, I have discovered this week that having some flexibility in activities management plan is missing. It's my Venus,Moon and Saturn in earth signs...lol.. I am so fixed and stubborn! But, with Mars in Aquarius I like creativity, originality with erractic energy but with Mars trine Sun I love physical suff like intense competitive dancing etc... yeah like night clubbing..lol. With my jupiter and moon conjunct midheaven I love organisation but can be fixed and an perfectionist at work and home.

Now, it's been six years since I have left the ex. I have moved forward with re-building my own life with baby steps. That is, baby steps, reaching out for support and taking proactive action helps me with moving through fear. Thanks to the support of my loving angels and guides I have been able to go cold turkey with the ex ( on and off again relationship pattern). Like your experience, the support, I experienced was through angels-gides- inutition, reaching out to support groups online, as well as, face to face groups like Alanon.

I have experienced support from my angels-guides- in many forms as signposts that I am heading in the right direction: dreams, people, books, missed telephone calls and connections, messages on boards like this, intuition and definite intuitive leads.

posted October 28, 2008 09:47 AM         

It's been a rough trip, a long flight, and the cherry on top is when the airline lost my luggage! haha.

Kick it, I honestly don't know what will happen to that dog. It is up to my friend to make the decision whether she will fight to have him put down. I think he is a danger to people, and especially children, and could possibly attack again. He is unstable, but it is my friend's decision what legal action she will take. I have already given her my 2 cents on the subject.

Saronna, all my love to you! I know it takes a lot of strength NOT to go running back to old relationships with hopes that this time it'll be different. I struggle with that all the time. I think by exercising your beliefs in angels, and your intuition, it has strengthened those feelings to a point where you can determine which direction destiny is pointing you. I need to have more faith in myself and my angels, cause right now the line between the right and wrong path are still a bit blurry. You are on the right path, and are doing exactly what you should to heal yourself and build a constructive, healthy life based on your needs and wants.

I've started Yoga, and I find that it is really helpful in taming my monkey mind...Let's see if i stick with it.

I wish you all the best Saronna. Keep me posted on how things are going with you!

posted October 28, 2008 06:52 PM         

It's like the old song