Just Another Day

About two hours ago (11 a.m. PT), my doorbell rang. Then, I heard a constant, frantic-like kind of knocking on the door. I peaked out the front window, expecting to find either the UPS man, or JW's at my door. Perhaps the Mormons were back on my block?

As I looked out the window, there was a very frightened, young hispanic woman with a terrified look in her eyes. She was crying hysterically. I asked through the window what was wrong. She was out of breath and didn't seem able to speak. She motioned towards the street, trying to communicate that someone, or something, was after her. She made motions that indicated to me that she was hurt, perhaps abused. She was shaking, hands at her throat, and tried to show me her scratched arm.

She obviously couldn't speak. It was then that I realized she must be deaf. She motioned that she wanted to write something down. I opened the door a crack, motioned for her to come in and mouthed, "do you want to come in?"

She nodded yes! As I closed the door behind us, she wanted to be sure that the front door was locked. I went to the back door and locked it, too.

I immediately got paper and pen and she wrote - call 911. That's what I did.

Meanwhile, a blue van pulled up with several people in it. She looked out the window with me and it made her very upset to see them there.

Since I didn't know whether they were friend or foe, I didn't open the door. They never did come to the door, anyway.

She began writing, somewhat incoherently, that she wanted the police to come and get her.

Meanwhile, the 911 operator started asking me for a full description of her.

I went over to the front door window again. Two young women were now out of the van, standing under a tree on my lawn. One was on her cell phone.

It was then that the 911 person learned, and then relayed to me, the girl's case and situation. Apparently, the young girl (age 19) suffers from schizophrenia and is bipolar. She was to be taken for a mental health evaluation that day. I'm not sure whether she escaped from the van, or from a residence.

The 911 person told me to "keep my distance" from her. This was right after she asked me to check and see if the girl had a knife or any other weapon on her!

Too late. I already had gently placed my hand on her hand and reached around and placed my right arm around her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. I then gave her the OK sign and she put her hands over her heart and seemed relieved.

Obviously, the 911 operator was concerned for my safety. Up until that point, I hadn't even thought about my own safety! I just wanted to comfort this very scared, hysterical young woman.

When she started writing more phrases on the notepad, they weren't always coherent. She was trying to communicate to me that she was hit by someone. She also demonstrated a strangle hold on her neck and showed me scratches on her arm. She wrote down her age (19). I think she may have also written down her name on the pad. It looked like she wrote "Saemko."

Meanwhile, my puggle dog Sasha was busy sniffing her legs and wagging her tail. While on the phone with the 911 person, I tried to ease the woman's fears by encouraging her to play with Sasha and her toy.

When the girl got anxious again, I pointed to the page where I had written, "Police are on the way here."

It took about 10 or 15 minutes for them to get to my house. The 911 operator instructed me to open the front door. The girl stayed right near the doorstep as I walked out to introduce myself to the women standing under the tree on my front lawn.

Of course, I had forgotten about my puggle and she ran right out the front door! I ran back in to get her leash. The police arrived. Two squad cars and one CHP. One of the women tried to help me catch Sasha. FAT CHANCE! Sasha knew she was "loose"!

While trying to catch Sasha, I laid the cordless phone on the lawn and forgot all about the 911 operator!

Meanwhile, the girl walked towards one of the officers. He put what looked like loose, safety handcuffs on her. The sign language interpreter was communicating between the girl and the officer.

I picked up the phone and told the 911 person that the girl is now with the officers. She thanked me and said that I did a great job.

One officer approached me and asked how the girl had gotten into my house. I told him. I also offered the scribbled notes that she and I wrote to each other while she was in my home. As we walked back towards the front door, I was relieved that Sasha followed us back into the house! The officer read through some of the scribbled notes, and then took the two pages with him.

One patrol car drove off with the young girl inside. The other two officers chatted with the three women for about 10 minutes on my front lawn.

I let Sasha out into the back yard and closed the door. When I returned to the front door window, I noticed that a different officer was heading towards my front door. I opened it. He asked me a few questions about myself, the situation, and for a contact phone number.

As he was turning to go back to the patrol car, he said, "It must have been scary for you." I said, "No, not until the 911 person told me to check for any knives or weapons on her!"

The young girl and I were in my kitchen, most of the time, during this incident. There were two butcher blocks full of various knives, within reach, in full view on the counter! If the girl wanted to harm me - she could easily have grabbed a knife and used it as a weapon.

But no.

She was there asking for my help and protection until the police arrived.

I felt so bad for her. I don't know the whole story so I can't be sure whether she was being abused or her schizophrenia/bipolar disorder was causing her to be fearful.

She did write on the pad:

"I want 'move'(?) Mom in San Diego. Feel safe her."

I am praying for her safety, for successful intervention concerning her care, and for her to get the help she needs through her mental health evaluation.