It was 2am and I was heading off to bed… little realising that soon I would be literally fighting for my life.

We had just enjoyed a lovely dinner at home with friends and I decided to join my husband in bed rather than tidy up

I was heavily pregnant and my body could feel the bed calling me… I eased into my comfy spot and felt my heartburn starting to ignite, but the thought of leaving the bed at that stage was far worse than the discomfort, and I fell asleep quite quickly 

That peaceful sleep was soon disrupted by a more intense fire in my chest and I gave in… I got out of bed to get a glass of water…

In the darkness of my kitchen lingered the silhouette of a man!

I screamed at him to get out of my house then quickly felt the coarseness of his hand muzzling my mouth whilst the other gripped tightly around my neck… suffocating me

I could not breathe.

All I could think of were my children as he slammed my body against every surface of the kitchen

I thought I was going to die- which made me question what was about to happen to my children.

 There was nothing I had of any monetary value to give him to make him leave, which then made me fearful of my children’s lives. They are all I have- was he there for them?

The thought of him harming my children released enough adrenaline to take down an army.

I made peace with the idea that I was going to fight him, I was determined to win- and I went for it!

I bit, kicked and fought back as hard as I could – even with my heavily pregnant belly in front of me.

Eventually, I freed my mouth from his grasp and I continued to scream at him to get out of my house

He knew I wasn’t going to stop fighting and he bolted out as quickly as he could.

The pain hit me within seconds of him escaping- there was blood everywhere, I could taste it in my mouth and smell it intensely… then I felt the labour pains kicking in with full force.

Suddenly my husband was standing in front of me panicking trying to work out what had just happened.

 I told him I needed my phone, I needed my dad and we needed to get to the hospital.

My husband called the police, who were there within minutes, the ambulance arrived soon after and I was on my way to hospital.

On the way to the ambulance I remember seeing my dad walking up to the house from his car… I hadn’t seen my face but the expression on my fathers face said it all.

I was hurt, really really badly.

I could feel it. The pain was so intense – but not as bad as the heartache, the fear of my unborn baby being injured or born too early as a result of the brutal attack… or even worse losing her completely.

The midwives were amazing- so kind and full of empathy- but there was nothing anyone could do to stop the labour.

I remember channeling inner peace stronger and more focused than I ever have before – I needed to forget everything I had just been through and focus on the unborn baby and encourage a sense of calm to flow over us.

When my husband walked into the emergency room I found my peace, he has always been a source of strength and that day was no exception.

I will never forget that ordeal, how scary it was, but more than anything the fear of losing a baby.

Thankfully I was able to carry my pregnancy to term and my baby girl is now a happy, healthy three year old .

Some of my children still remember that day. They remember “seeing Mummy on tv”… but I am happy that none of them understand the gravity of what happened that night.

Ignorance is bliss- especially when you are a child, I wouldn’t want their sense of safety to be stolen from them, the way it had been attempted to be stolen from me.

I look back on that night with the deepest of gratitude though, I am grateful I didn’t lose my baby, that my dad lives so close and I am particularly grateful that the intruder left his weapons outside with his accomplice – the police said it could have been a very different outcome otherwise.

So scary! Have you ever had a near-death experience? Share it with us in the comments below.