"That's what I kept telling myself it was for my son," she admitted. "But through prayer and through church members, they helped me to grow spiritually and I realized I didn't need him in my life."
In a strange turn of events, Carrie's batterer died of a heart attack.
"If you're in a relationship where a man hits you once, believe me he's gonna hit you again," she warned.
Some fear there will be more women like Carrie first because of the stresses of Hurricane Ike and now because of the economic problems.
"There's more violence I see it," said Dr Joey Fisher of the Ben Taub Domestic Violence Survivors Clinic. "I've heard about reports in the emergency room, more incidence and more violent incidents. They don't have as much money as they had anything that makes them lose that balance that control can make them angrier."
And makes them lash out in violent attacks like these. HPD Crisis Counselor Alma Gonzalez was battered twice in her life by her father and later her husband.
"And one day you wake up and you look in the mirror and you say 'can I live like this for the rest of my life,'" asked Gonzalez.
But a domestic violence victim should get guidance in when and how to leave a batterer.
"If the batterer, your husband, your boyfriend says I'm going to kill you if you leave, there are some steps you need to take to protect yourself, including calling the police and making sure they get there before you take any action," Dr. Fisher said.
"They just feel like there's no way out but I sit here today to tell you there is a way out," Carrie said. If you are a victim of abuse, you can call 1-800-799-SAFE for help. They can guide you in a safe way for you and your children to leave your abuser.
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