Finding a New Kind of Love

The Attack that Changed Our Lives

    The man lunged at Lanie, she screamed but there was no one around to hear her scream. He covered her mouth and told her to be quiet. 

"If you do what I tell you to then I won't kill you." says the man.

     He picked up Lanie and slammed her to the ground to try and get Lanie to be quiet and to stop moving around. He then drug her off the trail into some weeds and brush. Where he threw her to the ground and started to undress her. He took Lanie's phone out of her pocket and put it in his jacket so she wouldn't be able to call for help. The man had recently gotten out of prison for assault on a female and attempted r*pe. He longed for the touch of a female. He couldn't resist the way that Lanie looked. She still was screaming until he covered her mouth. She couldn't scream anymore, therefore, she did what she knew she could. She started screaming and welling her arms around. She managed to scratch the man on the face, leaving a deep wound. He slapped Lanie and took out a long pocket knife. You could see it shining in the sunlight. This man had done what no man should ever do to a woman. He left her almost completely naked and had beaten her quite extensively. After hearing some voices in the background, the man was spooked. Lanie was in and out of consciousness as the man slips the blade into her skin. Within minutes it was all over, and he was gone as quickly as he had come.

     Lanie had been attacked. The man took her phone. Another young woman walking the trail, found Lanie lying in a ditch. She was beaten up pretty badly. She had 4 stab wounds in her abdomen. The man had thought he killed her, and he almost did. The woman calls 911, "911 what is your emergency?" says the dispatcher. "Yes, my name is Julie. I am located at Marshell University Walking Trail. A lady has been stabbed." she said. "Alright Julie, can you tell me if she is still breathing?" asks the dispatcher. "I don't know, I can't tell," says Julie. "Okay, ma'am here is what I need you to do, I need you to grab her arm using your index and middle finger, place it on her wrist until you feel a pulse. If you feel a pulse, I need you to count the beats for one minute." the dispatcher says. "Okay, here we go. 1, 2, 3, 4." ..Julie continues to count for one minute. After a minute, she says, "her pulse is very faint, but I counted 70," said Julie. "Thank you, Julie. We have dispatched EMTs and they should be approaching soon. Until then, I'd like for you to stay with her until they get there. Does the lady have any identification on her?" asks the dispatcher. "No. The ambulance is here," says Julie. "Okay ma'am I am going to end the call, the EMTs should be able to handle things from here." the dispatcher says as she ends the call.

     After a few minutes the EMT's rush around the corner and pull Lanie up out of the weeds and brush. Her breathing was slowly diminishing. The EMTs put Lanie onto the stretcher and thank Julie for staying by her as she could have died if she hadn't been there to call 911 when she did. Julie just shook one of their hands and said, "you're welcome." After speaking with the EMTs a police officer approached Julie to ask her questions. Unfortunately, Julie didn't get to see anything that happened and only just had found Julie moments after the attack had taken place. Julie left her name and phone number with one of the gentlemen and then left the scene.

     Lanie is rushed to the nearest hospital with she is rushed into emergency surgery to stop her bleeding. Luckily, the man that stabbed her, missed all of her major organs and veins. The surgery takes about five hours, and doctors still have no idea who Lanie is. She hasn't been awake long enough for anyone to ask questions. After surgery, Lanie is taken to the ICU to recover. She spends the next 8 hours unconscious. Unaware that she is even in a hospital. Her husband Darry returns home from work. "Lanie, I'm home from work, where are you?" he said. Darry searches the house to find it quiet and empty. He sends a text message to her phone, "Babe, where are you? I'm home from work, though we could have dinner?" he types. After not hearing anything back he starts to get worried, and then decides to call her phone. It goes to voicemail, so he leaves a message. "Lanie, you are starting to worry me, babe. I am home from work and you aren't here. Please call me back. Let me know you are safe. I love you." he said.

     After more than an hour goes by of not hearing from his wife, Darry starts calling around to some of Lanie's friends and family. No one has seen her or heard from her. "Hospitals, I have to check the hospitals," he said. He calls the local medical center. "Hello, my name is Darry Darnell. My wife's name is Lanie Darnell. I haven't heard from her in hours, and that's really unlike her. I was wondering if she has been admitted to the hospital?" he said. "Please hold sir." says the attendant. After a few moments, the attendant comes back to the phone, "Sir? We have a lady here in the ICU, we aren't sure if she may be your wife. Can you please describe what your wife looks like?" she says. Darry in a confused and worrisome state, says "Yes, she has light brown hair, green eyes, they are like an emerald green. She has freckles on her nose and a mole slightly below her bottom lip. Behind her ear is a scar from brain surgery she had at a young age. It kind of looks like an X. On her left ankle she has a tattoo of a crescent moon, and on her wrist, a heart. That's all that I can remember right now." he said. The attendant once again, says "please hold." That God-awful elevator music starts to play in the background. Darry is getting impatient. Where is his wife? Why hasn't she called anyone? After about 6 minutes, the attendant says, "Sir, we think that we have your wife. She is in the ICU. That's all that we can tell you right now. If you want to come to see her, please come to the hospital and we can get you back there."

     Darry gasps and drops the phone. Without even hanging up the phone. "What have I done?" he says. Darry grabs his wallet and keys and on the way out the door, looks at the wall and sees their wedding picture hanging there. He runs his finger over her face and takes it off the wall. "Maybe this will help to identify her," he said.

     Darry gets to the hospital after what seemed like forever. He enters the building in a rush and runs over to the attendant on duty. "Please ma'am, I believe my wife is here. I called earlier. Her name is Lanie Darnell." he said. He shows the picture to the attendant and explains that one of the other attendants said that they thought they had his wife and that they didn't know if it was her or not. The attendant looks at the picture and immediately notices that it is Lanie. "Yes sir, we have her. She is in room 2356 in the ICU. Let me take you back there." she said.

     Darry and the attendant get to Lanie's room. The look on Darry's face was horrifying. The woman that he had vowed to take care of in sickness and in health was lying in a hospital bed only feet from where he stood. Darry looks at Lanie in disbelief. He is shocked. What happened to her? Is she going to live, he thought to himself. The spark that once made Darry fall in love with Lanie all those years ago, started to slip away a little over 10 years ago when their intimacy, just became nonexistent. Darry and Lanie stopped doing the things that couples should never stop doing. They stopped learning about one another. They stopped going on dates, they stopped taking vacations, they stopped watching movies together and eating dinner together. Darry often found himself sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms, while Lanie slept in the other. At that moment seeing Lanie lying in that hospital bed, as tears streamed down his face, he realized that the woman that he loved could die, "what have I done," he said.