I don’t know about you but I firmly believe in right place right time. I have had so many life experiences that have shaped me into the woman that I am & this is now being added to them. I even made a TikTok about this, call it divine intervention but I am still trying to make sense of the following events that I will now share. I had just celebrated Proper in San Diego for New Years and woke up extremely hungry. For whatever reason I was craving Pad Thai, so I googled a Thai place that was a 3 minute walk away that opened at 11 it was currently 9:30am so I said okay great I’ll keep resting and head out when they open. When I finally got up and went to the elevator I looked at my phone and the time said 11:11 and for whatever reason I felt this feeling that I was right on time. I walked to the restaurant and saw that they had a closed sign and wouldn’t reopen until the 2nd but because I knew that was all I was craving I was determined to find another place. As I googled once again another Thai place which only happened to be around the block I said perfect I’ll go there then. As I was walking I passed a Taco restaurant and made up my mind that if this second place is also closed then I’ll just come back here. That is exactly what happened, as I approached the second Thai restaurant I once again saw the closed sign and decided Tacos it is. I ordered my tacos to go and once they called my name I grabbed my bag and said “Happy New Year” to the employee. As I turned right to exit the restaurant an elderly woman comes running in screaming “Help!!! I need napkins!!!” Everyone in the restaurant just froze. I looked at her and I saw all the blood on her light gray sweatshirt and at first I thought she had been stabbed because of the big spots it had on the shoulders. Then I quickly realized she had been hit in the head as that is what she was holding onto with both hands. I look around and only one person grabs the napkins and I immediately say “I’m calling 911!” I spring into action and I run down the street trying to get the cross streets as this is only my 5th time ever in San Diego so I was unfamiliar with where I was. I give them the address of the Taco Shop and the cross streets B street & Seventh. Apparently some insane lunatic randomly slammed a bottle on her head as she was walking and then just ran. It was a complete and utter random attack on this helpless woman who was easily in her 60’s or 70’s. I asked her if he said anything to her and she said no. As I ran back from being on the phone with 911 she is sitting outside of the restaurant by herself and I see a butterfly tattoo on her hand. In that moment I knew I was supposed to be there to help her. I recently got a butterfly tattoo and I won’t get to deep into it’s significance but when I ask god for a sign he always sends me butterflies. I showed her my tattoo and she said how beautiful it was. She got that tattoo in honor of her mother and as we continued to conversate and distracted her from the immense pain the paramedics arrived. At first they were paramedics who seemed to be in their 20’s and they said they were there for food but that the real paramedics would be arriving soon and that honestly pissed me off. They seemed more concerned on getting their damn lunch than helping this woman. The amount of anger that I feel now looking back at the situation it seemed like nobody wanted to help her. Everyone inside the restaurant kept eating and it was only me and her outside until the firefighters and actual EMT paramedics arrived. I explained to them what had happened and how it was a completely random attack. The EMT asked her to remove the napkin to see the cut and I have never seen so much blood in my life all I could say was “OMG.” I hope to never see that much blood ever again. Once they put her on the stretcher and rolled her away I finally tell her “Rosie you’re gonna be ok”. She yelled out “Thank you Jess.” As I turned to walk back to my hotel I was overcome with emotion and just began to sob. I can’t believe I just saved someone’s life on the first day of 2025. Once I saw that butterfly on her hand I knew it was me that needed to be there for her. What I keep reflecting on and talking to my dad about was the lack of empathy and urgency from those that witnessed her run into the restaurant. I genuinely feel that we have failed as a society. We just had a man plow through New Orleans and someone blew up a car in Vegas where I was just at the day before getting to San Diego. The lack of safety I feel in this country is appalling. I did not just live in another country but another continent by myself from September 2022 until July of 2023 and not once did I feel unsafe. I solo traveled multiple countries and would do it again but in the US, forget about it. As soon as I arrived home I hugged both my parents so tightly. My dad called me his hero and it still makes me cry because I was just doing the right thing. Life is precious and I’m reminded of that everyday, so let’s continue to be there for each other and make this world a better place. Rosie Graham wherever you are my butterfly sister I hope that you are okay and that they catch this guy for you.
Journey of Jessy 