Woman Wore Surgical Mask For 12 Years To Hide Injury Caused By Her Husband

Jan 03, 2020 by apost team

Once a victim of domestic abuse herself, Saundra Crockett has become an activist who aims to raise awareness about domestic violence as well as help women out of it. 

Saundra Crockett grew up molested by her sister's husband, who raised Crockett after the death of her own father. In a speech she did for Testify World, Crockett revealed that when she finally told her sister of the abuse, she did not believe her. At the age of 12, Crockett moved to the USA with her sister following her divorce. As Crockett grew older, she read romantic novels which made her dream of running away and finding a man who would change her life for the better.

At 16 years old, Crockett ran away when she met a man she thought was the love of her life. She lived on the streets and started doing drugs until the age of 19, when she had her first daughter. She eventually separated from the father of her child and married another man, who she thought would be different.

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Then, when she was only 28 and had two young children, Saundra found out that her husband was having an affair. When she confronted him, the ex-Marine attacked her and hit her so violently that it resulted in an internal infection called necrotizing fasciitis that doctors didn't think she would survive. She endured 26 surgeries and did survive, but her face was disfigured forever. Crockett who was living in Beverly Hills, California, said that she hid the dark secret of her family behind a veil for 12 years.

Saundra wore a veil from that point across her face because the damage was so severe that she even scared her own children. She finally did divorce her abuser and went on to have a third child with another partner, but ultimately ended up losing her children and her home.

At the depths of her despair, she began meeting people who wanted to help her regain her life. A woman named Deborah Alessi who started an organization called "Face Forward" decided to help Saundra. The organization provides reconstructive surgery to victims of domestic violence in an effort to help them regain normalcy in life and move beyond the physical scars which only served as daily reminders of the abuse. They ask that those who do undergo surgery sign a form declaring that they will be advocates for victims of domestic violence. Today, Crockett is confident in herself and her appearance. She returned to school, graduated, found a great job and continues her fight against domestic violence.