One year later: turning a page on a tragedy

By Duane A. Beyal
Special to the Times

In October of last year, I wrote a column titled “More than a statistic: lost of a loved one to domestic violence,” about my girlfriend who had died from injuries she had received from a beating.

That column won first place in column writing in the annual contest of the Native American Journalists Association. The award will be handed out to the Navajo Times along with many others at NAJA’s convention this month in New Orleans, Louisiana.

I learned of the honor on Tuesday – just three days short of one year from the date Lynn died at UNM Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

She had been flown from Gallup to Albuquerque on Sept. 2, 2015, and passed away that afternoon.

On Aug. 9, 2015, she was beaten at her home. The next day, due to the seriousness of her injury, she was flown to Flagstaff Medical Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. She had bleeding in her brain.

She was released a few days later and returned to her usual self – talking a mile a minute, saying how nice the flight crew and the medical staff had been.

On Aug. 16, she was admitted to Gallup Indian Medical Center. She spent four days there, was released, but returned to the hospital almost immediately.

A week followed during which she complained about the pills she had to take, a variety of names and acronyms that caused various side effects.

On her last “normal” evening on Aug. 31, 2015, we had dinner with friends at their apartment in Gallup. I was not in contact with her since then. On the morning of Sept. 2, I received a phone call from her daughter saying they were driving to be with their mother who had been flown to Albuquerque. Then she was gone.

Throughout the 25 days she spent in and out of the hospitals, the doctors were very careful. They were cautious and could not say for sure if she was OK or if she could be released from their care. They talked about trying different medications in different strengths and combinations. They discussed the possibility of surgery on her brain.

We may never know how the damage caused by her beating contributed to her death. But I know that the person who punched her at least four times in the face, threw her body to the ground, then kicked her, as she described to me, was responsible for her death.

Her funeral was on Sept. 9, 2015, at the Mormon church in Gallup. She was buried in the same land as her father.

My column about her was published by the Navajo Times on Oct. 1, 2015. Many have raised questions including What happened next? Who was the person who had beaten her? Was law enforcement involved?

To these questions, all I can say is that life continues.

As what would have been her birthday approached in March, I called her family to say I wanted to visit her grave. I was surprised to hear that the person who had beaten her was dead.

As I ended the phone call, I could feel the force of passing events, the circles of coincidence, the fragility of life, and the profound completeness of death. There often seems more to this world and this life than may first appear.

As the new administration in Window Rock still appears “new,” as the reduced Council seems to be saving money but now is ripe for backdoor shenanigans by lobbyists, corporations and others looking for self-gain, life can putter to a standstill as we ponder the mysteries and knowledge just beyond our grasp.

A particle of truth and self-awareness is evident in this sequence of events. It happened, I wrote about it, now it is receiving an award. This seems proper and appropriate.

As my mother taught me, there is a time for mourning, then a time to move on, carry on, and live your life. This is a process I respect.

It means to never forget, always remember what you are shown and taught. It means to live, to dream, to turn the page.

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