Worst Nightmare in Years.

[Duke]

It just started off bad and never got any better until the end finally came and I'm sure I woke up screaming my daughters name because it was definitely on my tongue, plenty.

For whatever reason, my daughter and I were traveling in the South Eastern US and going from Hotel to Hotel in the process. The weather was extremely clear and although it was warm, I don't think it was particularity humid. Kinda sounds nice huh?

The very first thing I noticed about my daughter was that she was running ahead of me and we'd lose sight of each other. Now I know this is only happening within the confines of a Hotel but as a parent, no environment is ever truly safe for you child as far as I'm concerned.

We end up at this one Hotel at check in time and it seems nice enough. We stand at the main desk and wait while my Credit Card accepts the transaction for the room deposit which was something like $3,999.00 for one night I think it was. I'm guessing this was a discount as well since we couldn't just walk down some plush hallway to our room; we had to navigate a scaffold as they were under some type of repair or rebuilding. The scaffold was very easy to navigate and appeared safe enough so in no time, we were in the main hallway heading toward our room.

My daughter kept running ahead and even though it was apparently lifeless in this wing of the Hotel, it still made me very uneasy. I kinda yelled to her and when I got to where she was I strenuously reminded her that she needs to be in eyesight to me at all times.

Our room was at the end of this really cool and brightly lit hallway with a sunken and angular floor separating both sides of the hallway with our apartment/room at the end of the hallway. As nice as it was, I looked down at the rug ahead of me and noticed it was a bit tattered looking, spotty and stained. Dwoing actually ran to the doorway and took a seat on some old beer cases that were just outside our door. There were also bottles littered about next to the cases which I didn't like the look of but figured the cleaning lady hadn't finished up quite yet. I looked over my left shoulder to spy the kitchen that was also apparently part of our unit in some kind of an open concept but hidden to the hallway type of layout, just weird.

I unlocked the huge door to our room and noticed it was delaminating in some areas. Also, the lock was very difficult to turn and likewise, the door just didn't swing inward very well. I finally managed to get it to swing open to a gloriously lit room that was so bright that all surfaces seemed to glow. Dwoingy ran to the end of the room (which was quite lengthy in fact) and up to the door that apparently opened up on some sort of private back yard. I remember very vividly another door (such as the tattered door I'd already opened to let us in) and two windows letting in glorious sunlight through sheer curtains. The gaps in the curtains gave a limited view of what appeared to be majestic trees fencing in this backyard so I saw no harm in prying the door open.

Much to my horror, there were bees everywhere and all were on the spotty grass that lined the yard nearest the doorway. I never did see what the rest of the yard looked like because of all the bees close to us.

For some backstory, as I a child I reacted quite violently to bee stings and I believe there was one episode I could have died from had I not received an injection to help me breath. Luba can prolly shed more light on this because I was a little boy when this happened and I was definitely hallucinating as well as in and out of consciousness.

I wasn't thinking of myself with the bee’s issue, I was thinking of my daughter as I believed them to be killer bees this south in the US. The bees started taking flight in a slow lazy pattern really but one ended up in my hair and I panicked. I yelled to Dwoing to just run back and I followed, convinced we were about to be swarmed upon. Of course, retracing our steps as we ran back toward the hallway, I noticed bees in small groups, sitting on the floor, counters, furniture, etc., which only added to the panic.

We ran for our lives and after a time, we found ourselves on some shaky rooftop that was apparently a shed attached to the Hotel we were staying in. It looked easy enough to navigate but I was more interested in getting a ladder to help us down as this whole shed just looked too damn fragile. Oddly enough, the old man who owned the Hotel was raking the lawn nearby. Why he was raking and what he was raking is beyond me because the grass was completely spotless. Anyway, he said he didn't have a ladder so we were basically stuck there with no way to backtrack.

Dwoing had no trouble climbing around so I just thought we'd press on because the ground was only two stories down. Dwoingy goes first and easily makes it to what looks like a small lookout platform or some sort of raised platform you'd expect a soldier to use for easy enemy identification. To get to the ground, all she has to do is climb down the trellis that lines the outer edges of this platform but as she steps onto it, I realize it’s not secured and her full weight is on a 3 wide lattice row that extends all the way to the ground.

Just as she's about to descend, the lattice starts to sway under her weight and she’s screaming in terror at me. I'm still on the roof and too far away to do anything for her so I yell at her to grab the rail on the platform. The problem is my child is frozen in terror which only makes her grab the trelliswork tighter as its swaying increases. Each time it sways I'm yelling her name hoping she'll grab on but to no avail. The lattice creaks under her pressure and sways once, twice and the third sway is when it starts to buckle and also the exact point I woke up screaming.

As if all this isn't bad enough, I'm really bent out of shape because of it and I can't fricking go hold my child, tell her I love her, or do sh1t, because she lives with her mother.

This is pure torture and mental anguish and I hate everything in the world at this very moment because of it.



I don't think I'll be sleeping anymore this day.



Thanks for listening.

[Luba]

What a horrible nightmare! I sat here reading it over and over....not knowing what to say! I KNOW how much you love and cherish your daughter, and how it pains you not to have her with you more! I hope I'm not out of line saying this, but I think it really tears you up inside!

Yes, when you got stung it was THE most worst experience of my life as well as your father's. I previously never heard about having an allergy to bee stings, so when I came into the tent and saw you all swollen and not knowing why, I just screamed and screamed. Your Dad and your Grandfather were fishing at the time just down the creek and heard the screams. They came rushing to camp even with your Grandfather's hook being stuck in his behind when he heard the screams. Your quick-thinking Dad scooped you up and rushed you to the hospital just in time to get an injection! It still brings up painful memories when I think about it. Your Dad saved your life that day, no thanks to me!

[Meanon]

That's scary. You can't hold her but you can phone and say you love her, it may make you feel a little better to hear her voice. Hope you feel better soon, Duke

[TKDLady]

What a scary dream. I hope you are feeling better now.

[Duke]

You just don't rebound from this sort of thing that quickly. I still carry the concern this nightmare caused at the front of my mind and I'm betting it will be a while before that calms down some.

[TKDLady]

I am sorry you had such a horrible dream. I don't think I have ever had a bad dream involving my kids. I have had quite a few involving me but not my kids. I can imagine the feeling though.

[Meanon]

Awful nightmare last night about the girls, maybe it's catching

[Duke]

Originally Posted by Meanon

Awful nightmare last night about the girls, maybe it's catching

I hope not because they shake me up more than all other nightmares combined. Care to share the details of yours, maybe in a new topic?

[Meanon]

My nightmares are thankfully rare but would beat most horror films in content, which is weird as I am too much of a wimp to watch them. I'm not keen to post all the gory details. A family from near where I live have had their child snatched on a holiday in Portugal. It's in the news here every day. I guess it's just on my mind.

[Meanon]

Another last night - this time it was me that bought it

[Luba]

Originally Posted by Meanon

Another last night - this time it was me that bought it

I'm so sorry! I wonder why we have this going on underneath that we can't fully understand. It's like we're a whole different person inside somewhere that we don't know....it's really scary sometimes!

[TKDLady]

Originally Posted by Meanon

Another last night - this time it was me that bought it

Have your studies ever included dream analysis? I have always wanted to understand what is going on in my brain when I have good and bad dreams. I don't usually remember them however. Sorry you "bought it" in this one.

[Meanon]

Thanks Duke, luba, tkdlady . They freak me out when I wake, but they don't bother me too much after the event, more unsettling than anything else. The worst is when you are in that half asleep/awake state so you're not sure what's real and what's not - especially as I live alone (well, with kids) as I hear stuff in the house. Normally it doesn't bother me at all, just during nightmares. I can sometimes wake myself up, there is a name for it I always forget: being aware you are dreaming while sleeping.

Have your studies ever included dream analysis?

No, CBT doesn't place much emphasis on the unconscious self. But you can use dreams in therapeutic work as another manifestation of thoughts/emotion etc.

In my case there is no mystery: I have a wild imagination; the press is full of the story of a child abducted on holiday - very distressing story; the place is a chain and my friends (also Drs like this family) are also holidaying abroad with small kids with the same company; the missing girl's family lives near here, I know their town, my best friend's dad was treated by the dad of the missing girl; I worry about the kids safety, especially abroad without a partner; I'm going to spain with my kids soon; my friend and I were planning to use the babysitting service and i no longer want to; I'm in danger of missing my assignments deadline and so there is a feeling of impending catastrophy.

Good job I have no time to sleep during the next week

I think people deal with this sort of tragedy by telling themselves it couldn't/wouldn't happen to them. The less you can do that, the more they bother you.