Life in General

Anna Nicole Smith's physician pal Khristine Eroshevich is haunted by the memory of her last chat with the tragic model, because she begged her friend not to leave her alone.

Eroshevich, who was in Florida with a vacationing Smith, admits she was with the star in the days leading up to her death and recalls her final conversation with her friend.

She says, "She was taking a bath and she was shampooing her hair and I had been with her in the morning. That was Wednesday. I was going back and forth, saying goodbye and she was crying, and she said, 'Please don't leave me,' and I left."

The Bahamas-based doctor tells US TV news show Entertainment Tonight she has felt terrible guilt ever since her friend's death a month ago.

She adds, "I often think, 'Should I have stayed? What would have happened?' Certainly, I could have saved her."

And Eroshevich is keen to play down reports Smith died after suffering a fever, revealing her late pal was recovering from an illness when she left her.

She explains, "She wasn't well... She did spike a fever on Monday night but she got better really quick... I never thought that anything would happen to her. I called that night and was able to find out what she had eaten... and she was doing well. I called in the morning too. I never dreamed (she'd die)."