Easy Prey

Survival! I was definitely in survival mode, no doubt about it!  I awakened in an intensive care unit after being in a coma for about 18 hours.  I was unsure of my surroundings and the circumstances that had brought me to this critical point in my life.  During this time, everything was a blur.  Nothing and I mean nothing made any sense.  There were people talking all around me and I barely had the strength to even open my eyes.  So, most of the time, all I could do was lie there and listen.  When I finally had the strength to speak, I kept repeatedly asking, “Why am I here?  What happened to me?”  No one would give me a direct answer.   I heard nurses talking with each other saying, “She’s finally coming out of her coma”, which was certainly music to my ears.  I too am a nurse and all I could imagine was that I must have had a stroke or some terrible mishap.  However, my last clear memory was one in which I had gone to sleep in my own bed.  What was going on here?

My medical doctor finally reported that I had been poisoned with large doses of benzodiazepines, anti-depressants, Darvocet, and other agents they were still unsure of.  It had been touch and go for a while and at one point, they offered no hope for my survival.  My organs had been shutting down earlier and my blood pressure had dropped very low, but after several days, it looked like I was going to survive…………….  When I asked how I was brought to the hospital, my physician said, “Your husband brought you by his personal car.”  That is when I FINALLY WOKE UP.

So you might ask, what were the circumstances that nearly cost me my life?  There was only one other person who had access to my home and he was standing beside my bed.  I had only been divorced for a short time from my second husband before this whirlwind entered into my life.  Oh, believe me when I say I was easy prey.  Vulnerable, sad, lonely, and low self-esteem were just a few adjectives I could use to describe myself when I first met Shawn Evans.   He was the epitome of a charming man, but little did I know that one day he would send my world into a near death spiral.  I had heard of other women who strongly desired companionship at any price, but I never realized I was one of them!  I eventually had to face the truth that I was in fact just like all those other women.  Sure, I was an educated woman with a good career and a good head on my shoulders, but surprisingly I was easily sucked into this con man’s world.