A domestic violence victim took a selfie of her bruised face everyday to help get over the horrific attack she faced from her ex.
Caroline Way, 41, bravely shared the series of shocking images on her social media to inspire other victims of domestic abuse, The Mirror reports.
Following a row with her ex Deke Orriss, 39, she was strangled until she almost passed out.
He allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and threatened to rape her before saying, “We are going upstairs to die now.”
Caroline was left with a broken jaw, cracked eye socket, two black eyes and blurred vision. The attack was so severe that she had to have most of her face rebuilt.
Caroline told The Mirror:
I became a selfie queen. I used to take a picture of my face every day just to see it changing and how I was getting better. I found it so therapeutic.
This was a way of telling myself that because I could see my physical scars retreating, I knew my mental ones would too. Then I realised I could help other women by showing them what I had overcome so I posted the pictures on Facebook. The response was overwhelming.
When the pair first met, she brushed off his chequered past, which included heroin use and a GBH conviction, after he promised he’d changed.
“Looking back, I feel like an idiot as I’m so not the sort of person to get involved with someone like that. But I thought I could change him,” she added.
Caroline eventually decided to end the relationship and let Deke stay at her house while he looked for his own place to stay.
But when she started seeing other men, it only raised the tensions with her ex and this led to the horrific attack.
After admitting GBH, Orriss was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
If you or a loved one has been affected by domestic violence there is help out there, click here for more information.
