A woman who was beaten, stabbed and left for dead by her abusive ex-partner has married the paramedic who helped to save her life.
Melissa Dohme, from Florida, described her wedding to Cameron Hill as “my dream come true”.
She was just 20 years old when she was beaten and stabbed 32 times by her ex boyfriend, Robert Lee Burton Jr, in August 2012. She had been left for dead outside of her home when first responder Hill, 42, carried her from an ambulance to a helicopter, before she was flown to a hospital for treatment.
“It's a miracle I am still alive today – even the doctors say so,” Dohme told CBS of her injuries.
Ten months after the attack the pair were reunited at a lunch event held in her honour, where Hill asked Dohme and her mother to join him for dinner at the local fire department.
“I assumed I would be single for the rest of my life,” she told the BBC. So when Hill invited her for dinner, she “was really excited about it”.
“Afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about Cameron… [we] ended up taking for six hours,” she added. “It felt like we could talk forever and that's when it became clear there was something special here.”
After the pair had been dating for two years, Hill surprised Dohme by proposing during a baseball game, handing her a baseball bat adorned with the words “will you marry me?”
“I couldn't speak for a moment as I couldn't find the words,” she told the BBC.
“It was just really incredible knowing that he put so much effort in and to making this surprise special for me.”
A YouTube video of the proposal (below) has so far been watched more than 50,000 times.
The pair were married earlier this month in front of 200 friends and family as well as firefighters, emergency medics and doctors.
“All the people that saved me, from the first police officer on the scene to the trauma surgeon, are coming,” Hill said of the ceremony.
“Today I just feel very blessed to be here.”
Images: Facebook/YouTube
undefined
By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy
Thank you!
You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.