Struggling in the Rain

Struggling in the Rain.

Yesterday, Amy was standing in the rain waiting for a taxi to take her home. She had left her umbrella at home because the sun was shining in a cloud-less sky and she didn't know a storm was on the way. She was wet and shivering and she struggled in the rain until the taxi stopped in front of her and she was able to climb in and experience some relief. After half an hour she was able to go into her apartment, have a hot shower and a comforting meal. This challenging experience had ended but there was another more serious ongoing one that Amy’s family, friends and work colleagues knew nothing about.

Amy had met someone on social media, and she had been told his name was Tom and he was living in New York, and he worked in a homeless hub supporting adults and children living on the street. Amy had been on her own for a number of years when her former relationship had ended on a bad note. While she had support from family and friends she felt lonely living by herself in a small apartment and she had always wanted to be with someone, possibly start a family and purchase a big house out in the country. Amy was convinced that Tom was a caring supportive person going out of his way to help homeless individuals with no bias and she felt accepted and loved in the distant relationship with him ,with confidence that it would progress to a face to face meeting. When Tom told her he was coming to Australia to meet up she was over the moon and there was no way she was going to prevent this happening. She didn’t hesitate to support John in this move.

A text came on her phone the next day. John told her he had lost all his savings when he invested in a friend’s company which had closed down after taking on work that had failed miserably due to staff errors and the loss of potential clients. He had decided to support his friend, and he now regretted the life changing decision. Tom had lost his job after the other workers reported him for an increasing lack of concentration and an inadequate work performance and he was living from day to day, using his government benefit and savings to pay the bills, purchase necessities and pay off a high interest car loan. John told Amy that he needed immediate financial assistance or he would be homeless and Amy knew she had to step in to make her dreams come. John had told her that when he had covered all his bills and paid off the loan he would put his house on the market and move to Australia to be with her and refund the money. Amy didn’t hesitant and the money was in his account the next day. Amy never heard from him again and she realised that the Tom she had thought she knew had never existed. He could have been the same person with a totally different persona or someone else pretending to be Tom. Amy didn’t know but she had lost all her savings and the prospect of starting a caring and fulfilling relationship. She knew that her desperate needs had led to a scam which had changed her life both physically, emotionally and psychologically. She would never be the same person again and she never wanted anyone to know what she had done and face the epected judgement and the criticism. She was stuck in a storm with no support and no obvious way of moving on into the sunshine. Then an experience in the outdoors helped her to make the decision to start taking the first step.

Amy had joined recently joined a walking group and she went for a hike in the bush with the other hikers. Being part of the surrounding bush was relaxing, and it gave Amy the chance to separate from the negative thoughts that had dominated her life since the scam and the exercise helped her physically and emotionally. She walked confidently on the uneven ground until she tripped over a large rock and fell to the ground. Immediately the other hikers went to help her and two walkers helped her to stand up after checking for any serious injuries. Amy had hurt her leg but it was not seriously injured and she was confident that she could continue walking out of the bush. She thanked the other hikers for their support and friendship which had allowed her to get up and move on and this experience helped her to make a decision to share her story with family and close friends.

Everyone was moved by the scam, blaming the perpetrator for the terrible trauma he had caused. While they did not agree with Amy’s decision, they understood what had led to the connection with Tom, and they stepped in to help Amy in a number of ways. They were open to spending time with Amy to allow her to share her feelings and anxiety. One family member who worked in a Support facility helped Amy to connect to a Counsellor for regular support sessions. A close friend helped Amy enroll for a TAFE Business Diploma course which would set her up for secretarial work in a local business and help her get back on track financially. With the support she received after getting the courage to share her experience with close family and friends she was able to move forward in her life with positivity and commitment. She was no longer focused on a mixed relationship with a partner, which would happen in its own time if it was meant to be. There were more goals to meet and she had successfully left the storms in her life and moved into a bright warm climate with ups and downs she could handle. Whoa, Amy’s life had definitely changed for the better and she couldn’t have done it on her own.