I made the call

From the age of 3 to 11 I was sexually manipulated and abused by my step grandfather. I don’t remember each episode but the ones I do remember are vivid and I can describe the oddest things. Specifically, the chair he sat me in was moss green with a rough texture and rocked a little off balance. We had a lady come to our school and talk about the bad kinds of touches. I made myself memorize the phone number she gave us to call and I still remember the number to this day… 805-549-kids. I made the call. I turned him in and my world forever changed. I was examined, interviewed, put in counseling. I had to play with naked dolls with parts and show what had happened to me. Then, I was abducted by my mother and hidden away so I couldn’t testify. A year after that, I was found, put in foster care and subject to another horrific situation. I testified in court, they sent him away for 7 years. I was sent back to live with my father and step mother. My father always believed me but my step mother hated me from the deepest depths of her soul. So I played in the gutters and hid most of the time. Until I was old enough to get out. I married young and made the best I could out of life. I adopted a little boy from foster care and raised him as my own. He is now a thriving 25 year old and I am so very proud of him. I feel that my childhood was one horrific nightmare. But my adult life is mine. He can’t and won’t take that away from me. Due to injuries and HPV/Cervical cancer given to me by him, doctors told me I would never be able to have children. HA! I’m on my second marriage and at the ages of 39 and 42 I gave birth. I now have a 6 year old little boy and 3 year old little girl! Plus my 25 year old and 4 additional step children that I love with all my heart. I stumbled across Lori Poland on YouTube, it was a clip from Dr. Oz. When I heard her talk and explain things… I thought… Wow, she gets it, she’s got it, she understands and can communicate, she’s a force, a fighter and she has the spirit that I have. I wasn’t left in an outhouse hole. My story wasn’t all over the media. My family kept it as quiet as possible. But, I did hide in the gutter many hours a day for many years of my life. My childhood was not easy. It was cruel. But I don’t sit back and let it destroy my future. Looking at me now, if you didn’t know me then, you’d never know.

What advice would you offer to encourage others?

I don’t have much advice. But I just want to say to Lori… Thank you, for being on Dr. Oz and for sharing your story. I don’t feel so alone. I’m not one of the broken ones, I’m a survivor and proud of it!

Anonymous, Survivor