Kathy Kleiner Rubin

At the age of thirteen, I was diagnosed with systemic Lupus erythematosus a serious form of Lupus which attacks the organs. I stayed in the hospital for three months and given an experimental dose of chemotherapy which made me homebound and homeschooled for my seventh grade.

In 1978, I was attacked by Ted Bundy in the Chi Omega Sorority House at Florida State University.
He attacked me with a log he picked up from a pile of firewood. He beat my face so severe that my jaw was shattered, and barely attached to my jawbone. My check was ripped open to expose the inside of my mouth and my tongue was almost bitten off, I also received severe lacerations to my shoulder.

To repair my mouth, metal pins were inserted into my jaw. My chin was so badly shattered that wire was used to wrap around the bone to keep it together. They could not stitch my tongue, so it was to heal in time. My check was sutured together which left me with a scare. They wired my jaw shut for nine weeks.

I suffer from severe TMJ which has caused me to have several surgeries over the years, the last one two years ago.

The attack affected me both physically and emotionally.

I found I was uncomfortable to be around unfamiliar men, to overcome this, I worked in a lumber yard for three months until I felt it not necessary to continue.

I was married within six months of the attack which ended in divorce.

During the time I was married, I worked as a teller in a bank. It was there where I was robbed at gunpoint.

Since Lupus required me to be hospitalized so young and the trauma of Bundy's attack left me with a terrible fear of hospitals. To reach beyond this fear, I got a job in a hospital where I enjoyed working for 18 years.

When diagnosed with Lupus, I was told not to have children. Today I have a 38-year-old healthy son

At the age of 34, I was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer and had a radical mastectomy. Again, I was given chemotherapy.

After years of trying to have a baby, I was devastated when I had two miscarriages both in my second trimester.

My experience of being attacked by Ted Bundy has helped me survive and thrive with these adversities and others in my life. I believe there is nothing too difficult to overcome and that no one can stop me from achieving my dreams.