Postcard From Appalachia

"My story is largely an invisible one. I was trafficked as a young child, right here in Kentucky. I was taken to private residences and hotels, then auctioned off to anyone willing to pay. Despite numerous unexplained, very grown-up health problems, no physician ever asked whether I was being abused. Not once. When I finally escaped at 18, the first nightmare ended. I learned quickly that my own isolated horror would be difficult to move beyond. Consequently, I have struggled with an eating disorder, peripheral neuropathy, adrenal insufficiency and blindness — all derivative of the trauma of sexual and physical abuse. I have battled to put the suffering behind me. As a result, I’ve learned that a trafficking survivor is never 100 percent free until we rid ourselves completely of the trauma’s effects. That evolution doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen without personal commitment as well as outside involvement."