One year ago today "The Brenda Tracy" story went public in The Oregonian and my life was forever changed.

The photo on the right is me before the story came out. I was a size 15 and I hated myself. I battled depression and suicidal thoughts on a daily basis. The horror of my gang-rape ate away at my spirit and my soul every day. The picture on the left is of me and John Canzano – the reporter and friend who set me free from my prison of shame and silence.

To say he is my hero is an understatement! Today I am thriving. I'm a size 8 and I don't want to die. I want to live, love, laugh and fulfill my destiny and my purpose – which I know is to help others and make sure that no one has to go through what I did.

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I love you John! And thank you to all of you who have supported and loved me during this journey. I couldn't do it without you!

A poem dedicated to SANE and SART Nurses

By Brenda Tracy RN, Survivor

On behalf of every rape survivor,

Thank you

Thank you for being my strength when I had none.

Thank you for baring your soul and humanity at a time when I believed there was no humanity left in the world. 

Thank you for not judging me.

Thank you for the concern that showed on your face and in your eyes.

Thank you for the warmth that radiated off of you… the warmth that I know now was empathy bleeding from your heart towards me.

Thank you for being with me during the rape kit.

Thank you for providing me with safety and protection as my body and my soul was re-victimized by the medical process. 

Thank you for respecting my privacy.

Thank you for understanding that my deepest wounds could not be seen by the human eye.

Thank you for coming in every day… never knowing what tragedy awaited you… and then coming back the next day to do it all over again.

Thank you for being the most important stranger I would ever meet.

Thank you for accepting the call to become a SANE nurse.

But most of all…

Thank you for being with me on the worst day of my life.