Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of domestic violence which may disturb some people.
A Florida woman who was viciously stabbed 32 times and left for dead by a former boyfriend has married an emergency worker who helped save her life.
In 2011, when Melissa Dohme was 20 years old, a relationship with Robert Burton became violent. One night after an argument escalated to hitting, Ms Dohme called police and Burton was arrested on battery charges.
She didn't see him again until the day of his court appearance in early 2012. He told her he needed closure from the "terrible relationship" and told Ms Dohme he would leave her alone after that, she told the BBC.
When he reached out to hug her, he flipped open a switchblade knife and began stabbing.
Two children who witnessed the attack immediately called emergency services, but when Burton saw them, he got a larger knife from the car and continued the assault.
Ms Dohme was airlifted to hospital, but her injuries were extensive.
She'd suffered a stroke from blood loss, had a broken jaw and skull, fractures to the nose and jaw and one of the stab wounds had severed a facial nerve, leaving Ms Dohme paralysed on the right side of her face.
Nerve surgery eventually helped bring most of the movement back to her face, allowing Ms Dohme to smile on both sides of her face again.
Ms Dohme thought she would never fall in love again - until she met one of the firefighters who had been at the scene the night of the attack.
Ten months after the attack, Ms Dohme met the firefighters who responded to the emergency call. It was there she met Cameron Hill, the man she has just married.
A trailer for the couple's wedding video was shared by Ms Dohme's official Facebook page.
"I had to go through all this stuff that led me to find him. I wouldn't want to go through what I went through again, but I also wouldn't change it because it led me to Cameron," Ms Dohme told Fox 13 before the wedding.
The couple are currently on their honeymoon.
Newshub.
