Lady Gaga’s dog walker is on the mend after taking a bullet and almost losing his life in a mugging. The route through the next stage of recovery isn’t so clear.
Taking to social media, Ryan Fischer shared an update and some of the challenges of his healing process.
“Along with the media attention and trauma recovery,” he writes, “I am – for the first time in a very long time – without purpose, which has been the hardest part of this chapter.”
He continues, “because I’m not yet in the proper headspace to care for dogs (whenever I perceive a dog is in danger I go on high alert and then break down and cry after), my purpose for the last ten years has suddenly vanished.”
The scars aren’t all visible, but they’re still fresh, Fischer explains.
“People want to reach out, share in my pain for a moment, and then walk away, leaving me to relive it again. It’s not intentional; it comes from a kindness and compassion that I welcome.”
Fischer was walking Gaga’s three dogs in Los Angeles on the night of Feb. 24, when a gunman shot him once and fled the scene with two of the dogs, an incident that created international headlines.
A third dog got away and was later found. Gaga was reunited with all her pets in the following days.
Several men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery.
Fischer endured a setback in his recovery when, he previously explained, doctors identified a collapsed lung which required immediate surgery, and a partial removal.
