Have you ever estimated the financial impact of your assault? Is anyone else furious at how big the number is?

I know that the trauma to my body and brain should be what I am most angry about, but the lost earnings potential is what makes me the most furious.

It took me an extra 10 years to graduate after I was beat up badly. That’s at least half a million dollars it cost me because my degree field pays 50 to 75k and I found a job easily after graduation.

I also lost my job at the time of the assault and that cost me several thousand in the short term. They would not let me take time off and it is perfectly legal to fire someone for needing time off after being unable.

5k in Botox to fix my jaw. Hundreds of dollars a month for physical therapy for years because my back had hairline fractures from falling.

The money makes me the angriest. I broke my damn back and was disabled for years and yet I am totally zen about it. The f-ing money is what triggers me. Maybe because money means security and independence and he took that from me for so many years. I don’t know.

I had a safety net made of steel and I barely survived. People that love me made sacrifices to help me pay my for treatment. I do not come from money but if you measured riches by the love of your family I am wealthy beyond measure.