BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The surgeon said her wounds were something like you would see on a battlefield.
Here’s the story of one young woman who defied the odds and is now living to tell about it.
One last hug, that's all he said he wanted.
It was January 24, 2012 - in Clearwater, Florida. Melissa Dohme hill just 20 years old - had a bright future studying as a nurse, she had broken up with her longtime boyfriend three months prior and he wanted closure. So, she gave in.
“He reached around me for the hug, he was crying on phone and for moment he squeezed me then he flipped a switchblade open, hiding in his hand,” Melissa said.
She screamed, wailed, ran for help, and landed in the road in front of her home.
The brutal attack was just beginning, the ex-boyfriend would go on to stab her 29 more times with a larger knife and leave her lifeless in a pool of blood.
Two teenagers at a nearby park answered her prayers by pulling her attacker off her and calling 911.
Dohme was found by police on patrols and was rushed to an ICU.
Trauma surgeons worked on her for 5 hours, she flatlined four times and had a stroke. The blood loss was becoming too much, but Melissa fought hard.
After multiple reconstructive surgeries, she developed the conviction to be an advocate and speak out against domestic violence as the keynote speaker for the Samaritan House at their Women Against Violence luncheon.
For Melissa, each day she is fulfilling her life’s purpose as to why she was lucky enough to survive that horrific night.
