Victim of violence married her savior
'08.04.2017'
Source: yahoo.com
Video source: Today Show (www.facebook.com/today)
You never know how the turn of fate awaits you happiness. And from the point of view of most people, Melissa Dome Hill met her future husband in a rather original way.
In her 20s, this Tampa woman seemed to have had a pretty busy life. She was a college student with many friends, cheerful and active. But this was a deceptive impression, because terror lived inside her. Melissa was in a humiliating relationship without realizing it herself. “I was young and naive and thought he was just angry, and this is temporary, so I didn't say anything to anyone,” 24-year-old Melissa said in an interview. It wasn't until her ex-boyfriend threatened to kill her that she decided it was time to take action. In October 2011, she broke up with him and reported the beating to the police. He was arrested. She thought that so be it, and she would never see him again. As it turned out, she was later wrong.
Three months later, on January 23 2012, she received hundreds of SMS messages and calls in the middle of the night, and, contrary to common sense, decided to answer. He stated that he was ready to break off relations, and just wanted to meet for a few minutes in order to embrace her goodbye. Could she know that going to his van puts herself in danger? He already had a folding knife in his hand, and when she hugged him, he opened the blade and hit it 32 times. She fainted.
Melissa may not remember anything about that night, but Cameron Hill does. He was one of the first witnesses at the scene. Then he admitted that when he saw her being transported to the nearest hospital, he had a strange feeling that soon their paths would cross again. And they did meet after 10 months - at a dinner party. In addition to Cameron, there were other rescuers who helped her on the night of the attack.
At first, Melissa didn't want a relationship with Cameron. “I told myself that I wasn’t going to see anyone anymore,” she said. "I've been through too much, but something about Cameron still attracted me." In May 2015, the couple got engaged at the games. Tampa Bay Rays. The local toast-host, having learned about the history of this relationship, offered to organize a wedding for free.
All the paramedics and the traumatologist who were saving Melissa on that terrible night were present at the wedding, and the policewoman who found her was the bridesmaid. After everything they had gone through, they became friends.
Now Melissa has devoted her life to protecting against domestic violence, works for a non-profit organization that specializes in helping victims of violence - Hands Through the Bay.
“What happened to me is scary, I would never have thought that I would go through this, but it was from this incident that changes in my life for the better began, I was able to find a purpose in life and meet my soul mate,” says Melissa.
