PTSD

I don't know what I was watching, to be honest with you. 

It was about a little girl all of 11 years old, that laid over her best friend who she knew was dead during the Uvalde school shooting and she played dead to stay alive. 

The shooter then left them and went to an adjoining room and began shooting. 

She grabbed her teacher's cell phone after she was shot and killed and called 911 and told them they were in trouble there. Oh my goodness. 
Then she saw all the blood everywhere and she smeared some on her and lay next to her best friend and played dead in case he came back. 

Smart 11 yr old right? She heard footsteps and just laid as still as she could.

It was gut-wrenching and while her parents and the journalists all made a fuss about her being a hero I wondered if they were getting this young girl any counseling. Yes, at the moment she was a true hero. She was quick to see what she had to do to survive and get help. At 11 years old. Some adults wouldn't be able to handle it as well.

This young girl said she was a loner and this young friend who died was her only friend. She cried saying how wonderful her friend was. She said she knew she was dead but couldn't leave her alone and she had to hug her and then she just laid over her or by her when the person with the gun came back and she played dead. 

She is behaving like it's all fine now in front of the cameras. 

I sincerely doubt it. I'm sure she is fine at times and at times she has some difficulties. That would be normal.
I do hope to God her parents are smart enough to know she has to work through this. She has to learn how to cope when this triggers something and she doesn't know where this is coming from. This little girl needs counseling and I hope she gets it. Talk about PTSD.

I know as a child I had to suppress everything when my mom was sick or dying. Everything. No mourning over my mom, so filled with anxiety and fear. I pushed it down and pushed it down. If I didn't my father would have done it for me. Counseling was not something he would have even thought of let alone agree to. Possibly if someone he respected suggested he get his girls some grief counseling, like a priest. But no one did. And heaven knows the one time I told Dad some feelings I was told to toughen up. I was all of 12. I had been taking care of my mom and sister while she was sick. He didn't. 
It was my responsibility. By the time my mom died a few months later at age 13 I knew not to say or do anything but smile, take care of everyone, and do what was expected. That is when my "peggy face" developed. Everyone thinks I am always happy because I am smiling and appear to be jovial and happy. (I wear a Peggy face a great deal.)

I could have used the counseling because at 60 years old it all began to come up, bubbling up. I often wondered if I had had counseling to deal with it maybe it wouldn't have come up at age 60. Perhaps I would have had the tools to deal with it as well. I would love to write more about it because it helps me but as I said my husband gave my blog site out to someone so now I just can't...well, until they die. HA HA

As I watched this little girl I saw her smile when appropriate and shake her head when they tell her she was so brave. When she spoke about her best friend was when you could see the cracks. I wanted to hug this little girl and have her talk it out. Scream it out. No little girl or boy should have had to deal with that let alone be brave about it. It was war and she had no defense. She shouldn't have to smile through this. That is so something my father would demand of me in grief...Smile, be polite, and don't act depressed, you will make others feel bad. Always about others what about my sister and me? 

I hope this young girl can get past this horrific incident and be able to handle all that comes flashing back to her over the years. 
No 11-year-old should have to deal with these issues. 

Actually, no one should have to deal with these issues.