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A visit to see Teri Jendusa-Nicolai in Racine County, you find a pretty mother lovingly interacting with her kids. As they play outside their suburban home nestled on a cul-de-sac, it's almost impossible to imagine that the mother of 3 survived a harrowing tale of cruelty, abuse, and evil.
 

Teri Jendusa-Nicolai's ex husband beat her with a baseball bat, stuffed her in a garbage can and left her to die in a cold storage shed January of 2004. Jendusa-Nicolai recalls, "He had stuffed rags and towels  and taken my socks and  shoes off stuffed my socks in my mouth. He tried to suffocate me tried to put his hand over my mouth. I did whatever i could to struggle to get away." But for Jendusa-Nicolai, dying was not an option.

Terri remembers. "I thought about my girls. What's  he going to do to them. What kind of life will they have with this kind of monster. That's when the survival mode kicked in."

Jendusa-Nicolai recalls, "He had stuffed rags and towels  and taken my socks and  shoes off stuffed my socks in my mouth. He tried to suffocate me tried to put his hand over my mouth. I did whatever I could to struggle to get away. "  But Teri remembers thinking, Dying is not an option. She  found strength thinking about her two young daughters.

"I  thought about my girls. What's  he going to do to them?  What  kind of life are they going to have living with this kind of a monster?

Then that survival mode kicked in again. "

 Luckily, Teri who was pregnant at the time remembered she had a phone.  She recollects, "I got the cell phone out of my pocket even though i couldn't see it i could feel the numbers and dialed 911."

 Banged up, scarred, and left without toes, Teri Jendusa-Nicolai captured our hearts when she went public shortly after the near deadly attack.
Appearing for the press, March 18th, 2004, Jendusa-Nicolai revealed,  "A lot of people ask me where do you get your resilience from, where does that strength come from? I do say a lot of it still comes from my faith in God."
  Today Jendusa-Nicolai is happily married. She and her husband Nick have had another child. Little Ben will turn 3 years old next month. And with two older daughters, Teri admits most of the time she is just a mom.  Still Jendusa-Nicolai is a powerful advocate against domestic abuse. She appears at universities, schools and programs all over the country.  She is committed to helping people get out of  abusive situations. Jendusa-Nicolai admits, "I'm not afraid to talk to people and tell them I've been there. I want to tell them this is how you get away from this, This is how you not only survive but be victorious.
  Today she feels blessed that all of her children are healthy and happy. She tells victims to follow their gut.  She remembers her ex husband first hit her on her honeymoon. She admits, she should have listened to her instincts, but tried to make the marriage work. Today Jendusa-Nicolai has this advice for others facing abusive situations. 'Listen to the people around you and listen to your inner self. That's where the truth lies." And, it's heartwarming to know, that though Teri's ex husband tried to destroy her life, she ultimately got a new one, and a new sense of purpose. One that prevents pain, and saves lives.