Veronica turned on her light and ran to the guest room. Poor Diana sounded like she was having a nightmare. Her parents were already there. Her Dad was telling Diana to wake up. When she did, the first thing she did was to call for her friend.

"Veronica?"

"I'm here Diana."

"Was that a nightmare?"

"Yes, my father woke you. He and Mom are here and we all want to help you, not judge you."

"Oh God, I was so scared,so scared. Help, I need help but I have no money. Can't be like Grandma, just can't."

"Remember what I said traumatic stress and schizophrenia are different. I pray you don't develop the later, but it's the trauma that is what you need help with now. I know someone who does mental health treatment for those who are low income and specializes in this. I will not let money be an issue for you" said Veronica's dad.

"What time is it?" Diana was still very panicked.

"5, do you want to get some more sleep?"

" I have to find out when Mary Ann's funeral is."

"Diana, remember what calmed you before when you were anxious?" Asked Veronica.

"Herbal Tea and prayer, Margery Kempe, Chaucer and music and being with you, my friend."

"Yes, mom has some tea."

"Where is my rosary?"

Veronica handed it to her and they prayed a decade after doing some deep breathing exercises.

"I can't tell Dad. He'll want me sent away if I don't get better."

"Oh, Diana. You know how many people who come home from war with this, they aren't institutionalized. I promise you, I'll never approve of that unless you develop something else, but even then, it would be a last resort because I'm a firm believer in community inclusion and deinstitutionalization. My parents and I are going to see you through this."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

A few hours later an appointment was made with a psychologist and Diana could not get her mind off her friend's death but did not open up. She arranged for lecture notes to be mailed from some of her professors and her favorite professor came out to Akron to give her lecture notes over coffee. She had to go on and felt she needed nothing to get in her way.

The day of her first counseling appointment Diana was very nervous. Veronica reminded her that her father's friend was a woman. How wonderfully modern and comforting she thought.

When Diana first saw the psychologist she felt a glimmer of hope.

"Hello Diana, what brings you here today?"

I'm afraid Dr. Wilson. I was at Kent State yesterday and it was terrible, my friend died and I had a flashback and a nightmare and Dr. Murphy said it was traumatic stress and my grandma has schizophrenia and I don't want that too,I don't want to go crazy, so…

"Diana let's break this down, start with your family history and work your way up to yesterday."

"Ok well I never knew my grandmother, she was always talked about in hushed tones, Mother was very ashamed…"

About an hour later Dr. Wilson recapped the session.

"You've been through alot in your life Diana, worry about developing your grandmother's illness, your mother leaving and then yesterday. It's a lot for one to take. It appears that what you are experiencing is symptoms of Post Traumatic stress disorder. The sooner you get help the better the prognosis is, so I'm glad you came so soon. You can talk about the most recent trauma whenever you are ready. If you are worried about schizophrenia, I'll give you some information on that and advise you not to obsess over it and let a professional diagnose it. Right now, I see no indication of it. Would you like to set up another appointment?"

"Please. I can't develop a mental illness, I just can't."

"Diana you have anxiety, you just faced some trauma. You need to heal. Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. You are very lucky to be staying with Dr. Murphy and his family. I trust them and know they will help you and accept you."

Diana left feeling relieved and ready to tackle the challenge that lay before her. She also prayed that she would never have her grandmother's illness, she hoped Veronica would be there for her and never lock her away.

Before bed Veronica reminded her that whatever happened to her, she'd be with her. Diana felt some comfort that night as she asked the patron saint of mental illness for prayers. She knew she needed to be as strong as she possibly could be.