Life for Tina seemed pretty good, taking care of dad and grandma and pretty much doing what she wanted to do, until…

Tina was riding her bike down a neighborhood sidewalk, doing life as usual, when out of no where a car jumped the curb and hit her head on.  Tina was air-lifted to UC Davis Medical Center and trauma center.  She had sustained severe head injuries.  Her mother was called to come immediately, not knowing if her child was alive or dead, the  fear of what might be haunted her.  She arrived to find her daughter unconscious. Tina remained in that condition for 4 days.  Miraculously, Tina survived the accident but with some scars and some disability.

After her rehabilitation, Tina was back at home with dad and grandma and now qualified for Social Security.  She focused on taking care of her dad and grandma but there was always a draw for her to the ‘wild side’, the harsher side of life and the people who lived there.

Tina’s second brush with death came when her dad died.  Her life spiraled.  She began collecting friends from worst situations.  When I asked Tina why befriending these people was so important to her she shared, “Their lives were so screwed up.  After my dad died I lost myself in their hardships so I didn’t feel so bad.”  “Were you homeless at this time?”  “No” she answered. “I was still taking care of my grandma…I made sure she wanted for nothing.”

It was very important to Tina to care for her grandmother. She loved her and saw her more as a mother than grandma. As time went on, the inevitable occurred.  The next death Tina experienced was her grandmother’s.  Tina would go to the hospital everyday to care for her, often laying next to her, reading her bible to her.  At 82 her grandmother died and Tina was left alone…alone to fend for herself.

Tina’s life continued to spiral.  It is at this time that her decisions continued to become life-defining.  It was at this time that Tina put herself in harm’s way on many occasions.  It is at this time that her life on the streets was getting closer.  There was one more event that put Tina over the edge….let’s meet back here tomorrow and I’ll share ‘the rest of the story.’