'I felt myself dying': Student stabbed 32 times by her crazed ex-boyfriend releases shocking picture of her injuries in campaign against domestic violence
- Melissa Dohme nearly died on the evening of January 24, 2012 when Robert Burton attacked her outside her home
- Flat-lined four times that night as paramedics and doctors battled through the night to save her
- She suffered nerve damage and a stroke which caused the left side of her face to be paralyzed
- She has battled through two years of rehabilitation and 10 operations to recover
- Incredibly has fallen in love with one of the paramedics who arrived first on the scene
- Has spoken out against violence against women following her assault
- Burton was sentenced to life without parole in March 2013
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Melissa Dohme agreed to meet her ex-boyfriend outside her Clearwater, Florida, home for one final embrace.
In a split second after they clinched, Robert Burton unleashed a frenzied stabbing attack on her face and body, cracking her skull, knocking out her teeth and slicing through her neck and back.
The pretty college student flat-lined four times that night in January 2012, as doctor's battled to stem the flow of blood from her 32 stabs wounds.
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Shocking: Melissa Dohme, appears in a picture in the weeks after she was stabbed 32-times by her ex-boyfriend Robert Burton outside her home in Clearwater, Florida on January 24, 2012
She suffered a stroke that rendered the left side of her face paralyzed and caused her disfigurement she has admitted was 'hard to accept'.
But amazingly she survived against all odds and as violence against women dominates the headlines, Dohme has released an image of her wounds in her role as a campaigner for victims of domestic abuse.
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ShareIn the two years since she desperately clambered onto the sidewalk to escape her crazed boyfriend running her over as he fled in his car, Dohme, now 22, has undergone 10 reconstructive procedures as part of her recovery.
Incredibly, she has forgiven Burton, who is currently serving a life sentence without parole for his cowardly and brutal attack.
Now: Melissa Dohme's recovery is apparent in this grab from her appearance on Sunday night for CBS show 48-Hours - in which she discussed her campaign against domestic violence
Close to death: Melissa nearly died four times as doctors battled to save her after she suffered 32 stab wounds and her recovery proceeded slowly
Recovery: Melissa suffered nerve damage and a stroke that left her needing months of rehabilitation
Brutal: Police gather evidence pictures of the wounds that Robert Burton inflicted on his former girlfriend that almost ended her life
Crazed: Robert Burton is pictured here with Melissa Dohme before he unleashed his horrifying assault on her in January 2012
Video Source YouTube
And in an incredible turn of fate, Dohme is now in a loving relationship with one of the first paramedics on the scene who responded to the 911 call.
In an interview with CBS News to highlight the recent spate of violent attacks on women inlcuding the stoning death of a woman in Pakistan and the rape and hanging of two women in India, Dohme recounted the terrible evening of January 24, 2012.
'I went outside to meet Robert Burton ... in the hopes that he would really leave me alone forever,' said Dohme.
'He said that he just ... wanted a hug. It's all he wanted. ... A final goodbye, all he wanted was closure and I basically, you know, walked outside to my murder.
'And, you know, I ... walked up to him. ...He looked kind of empty, no emotion ... absolutely nothing in his eyes. Just soulless ... I mean he was just blank face.
'I heard a click ... I didn't know what the sound was, he just started just stabbing me with that knife ... he just kept coming at my face.
'I knew my face was completely covered in blood, and my hair felt soaking wet. I mean, it was seriously, like, dripping wet, like I just got outta the shower.
'I was trying to scream and I'm trying to crawl and I wasn't getting anywhere.
'I felt myself dying so ... I couldn't really breathe. .... I felt myself I really was not going to make it. I really said 'this is it.'
Survivor: Melissa Dohme was stabbed in the face and neck more than 32 times, but her scars are quickly fading; the picture on the right shows how her scars have healed in a two-month span
Remarkable recovery: Melissa posted this montage of photographs that documented her recovery from a near fatal stabbing in 2012
Dohme and Burton had been together for two years before she ended their relationship after he throttled her one evening in 2011.
In her impact statement at his sentencing in March, 2013, Dohme reminded the judge exactly what Burton did to her and what he wanted to do to her.
'He was just stabbing over and over with the switch blade knife and that's when I was leaving my hands up because I knew he was trying to stab me in the eyes and heart,' she said.
A trauma surgeon told the judge it was a miracle Dohme survived as she was seconds away from dying, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Found love: Melissa Dohme with her boyfriend Cameron Hill last year - who was one of the paramedics who responded to her 911 call when she was stabbed 32 times in the face and neck
Justice served: Melissa Dohme in court last year with her mom and sister, left, and the surgeon she credits with saving her life, right
She suffered a stroke from the blood loss and had cuts across her arms, neck, head and face. Her teeth were knocked out, and her skull was cracked.
'It is all like a blur, I remember pieces of it,' said Dohme to CBS News.
'He immediately stabbed me right here in the back of my shoulder and then right here in the back of my neck.
'The knife just kept coming down at me.
'I remember hearing ... my skull crack. Over all of my -- he kept coming at my face.
'And then my mouth filled with blood ... "Oh, my God, you know, he's going to kill me. ... This is a fight for my life ... I have to scream. I have to run.
'I was losing blood everywhere. I kept trying to like crawl away from him...
'I was so weak ... I felt like I was going to die right there.'
Burton pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and domestic abuse in the stabbing of his ex-girlfriend.
At her court appearance, Dohme was accompanied by her now-boyfriend, Clearwater firefighter, Cameron Hill, 39, who responded to the 911 call.
Happy outcome: Cameron Hill and Melissa Dohme met for the first time that awful night - but are now together
Mr Hill said the sight of the young woman drenched in blood with stab wounds to her hands, arms, face and head was the most gruesome he had seen in his 17-year career.
Though he couldn't see her face, couldn't tell if she was blond because of the blood and didn't know her name, a strange feeling came over him and he said he knew in his heart he was going to see her again.
'Usually with a person that has been stabbed that many times, you don't think that they are gonna make it ... But as the helicopter was lifting off that night, I had this crazy little feeling in my head that I would see Melissa again,' said Hill to CBS News.
Melissa ended up being in the hospital for three weeks. She flat lined four times, received 12 units of blood and suffered a stroke that affected her balance, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
A severed nerve partially paralyzed the left side of her face.
Though doctors did not know if she would speak smile or walk again, she made a remarkable recovery and left rehab without a cane.
Head over heels: Cameron did not know what to do but could not get the young woman he rescued out of his head. He eventually asked her out and ever since their first date the pair have been inseparable
'When Melissa showed up to our trauma center here in St. Petersburg, she ... was dying before our eyes. ... And without a rapid intervention it would be over quick,' said Dr. Jeffery Johnson of the Bayfront Health Medical Center.
'So the moment she hit the door we started resuscitation, we started CPR, we started replacing her blood volume. And then our next point of attack was to stop the bleeding.
'Melissa died twice in our emergency room-- and each time we were able to get back. I wasn't giving up and she wasn't giving up. And so, if she wasn't gonna give up, our team wasn't gonna give up.'
She became determined to reach out to all those who helped save her and to tell her story to others.
After a trip to Europe with her girlfriends, she returned determined to become a nurse.
She now travels the country speaking as an advocate for abused women.
'I don't want to hear of another girl on the news who was killed or another girl who was permanently disfigured. I don't want to hear these things,' she said to CBS News.
'One of the main things I tell new girls is never meet up with an abusive ex of yours, it's not safe and I didn't know that.'
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