“She dragged me to the front door and I can remember feeling panicked. Where was the key? We were locked in, slipping on the blood pouring from my face on the laminate floor.”
‘I have very little memory of what happened next. I woke up to his friend’s girlfriend dragging me across the garden. She was screaming, it was such a terrifying scream. But why? Whatever she had seen had terrified her.’: Woman escapes abuser to finally marry ‘amazing man’
‘It was exactly 4:00 p.m. There were no other cars around me for about a mile. I noticed the truck turning left and wasn’t slowing down to turn. In fact, he was speeding up. This was it. I knew I was going to hit him.’
“That day I felt a strong feeling that I needed to put my seatbelt on in her driveway. I thought it was a little bit odd, because I usually didn’t put my seatbelt on until I was leaving her neighborhood, but I put it on right then.”
‘Life changed in a heartbeat. I dropped to my knees on the kitchen rug, a horrible sensation ripping through my nerves. My skin felt like it was trying to harness golf balls wildly in my veins.’
“I had never been a ‘sick’ person. I had only gone to the hospital for labor. I didn’t even have a cavity! Now, my kids were crying. My husband was on the phone with 911. I froze. ‘It’s happening again,’ I screamed. My arm moved wildly on its own. Everyone began to scramble.”
‘I laid in my hotel room bath, sunk my head underwater, closed my eyes. I wondered what life would be without me in it? I cried.’: Woman stresses importance of mental health awareness after abusive relationships, suicidal thoughts
“He’d be on dating apps talking about the women he’d hooked up with the night before. I still loved him. I’d confront him. ‘Why do you do this?’ It would always escalate into a big argument. Our neighbors called the police to our house because of the noise.”
‘During my pregnancy, my dad came to me in a dream. He was holding a baby boy wrapped in a pale blue blanket. He walked towards me. It’s the only memory I have of them together.’
“We had chosen to wait on finding out the gender until birth, but I knew when waking up that the little boy inside me would be a boy. I’ll never hear you tell him you love him or sing him to sleep. He will never see you on the sidelines, cheering him on. But I know you were taking care of him before it was my turn to.”
‘I got pregnant on my 21st birthday. I was a sophomore in college and my family was 400 miles away. I had to create an exit plan. Things took a turn for the worst.’
“I moved in with family members I didn’t have contact with growing up. It was the the beginning of a harsh series of months. I remember one person telling me, ‘The reason this is happening to you is because you’re always chasing money.’ I knew there had to be something better coming.”
‘We were celebrating 3 years of marriage. I thought life couldn’t get any better. When I laid down, I got news no one wants to hear. I ran to the bathroom and hovered over the toilet, dry heaving.’
“Tears rolled down my face. I went to lie down again and the entire sequence replayed itself. I could hardly believe it. Just like that, we transitioned from ‘recently married’ to ‘patient and caregiver’ and there was no stopping it. We began writing funeral plans.”
‘Today, I witnessed someone tell a mother of 4, ‘You must really have your hands full.’ I winced. There was nothing positive about it. She half smiled, walked away. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.’
“To others, her kids are work. But they are so much for than that. What could’ve been said to to this mom that would’ve not left her with a half smile, but actual joy in her heart? I realized that only ONE word in the statement had to be changed.”
‘I was out at a restaurant. ‘I’m not feeling well,’ I said. I knew something was wrong. Shaking, I excused myself and drove straight home. When I got back, my world crumbled around me.’
“I crawled to the bathroom. I couldn’t stand up without blacking out. I was paralyzed. I was supposed to be getting ready to go off to college with friends and I suddenly found myself unable to get out of bed. The wheelchair made others roll their eyes. ‘You don’t need that,’ they said. ‘Faker.’
‘I kept thinking, ‘If I make more money than my husband, he won’t want me anymore.’ Why was I so afraid? I thought it was normal to fight about money.’
“I remember always being alone in my room, barbies in hand, my parents screaming profanities at each other. ‘Where is all the money? How could you have spent it all?!’ My dad had an expensive drug habit that kept him awake for work. As a child, I learned that money meant I was invisible.”
