44°
Her body was weak and numb. Someone was hitting her in the head.
As she came to, she felt wetness coming down her face and neck.
The man causing her pain was her husband, now-ex, repeatedly stabbing her all over her body with a hunting knife, she said.
Wednesday, March 14 was 21 years since the incident that left Moore of Bergenfield a quadriplegic -- hospitalized with 21 stab wounds.
Her son, too, as the man she once loved also turned the knife on him, she said.
Moore knew the only way to recover was to keep going -- keep living the life she knew as a mom, working in HR at the Bergen County Department of Parks and a typist at the prosecutor's office.
Moore's father gave her a van to keep working those jobs as long as her sons were in college and trade school.
But that van recently died -- not long after her father. She doesn't have the money to afford a new one but wants nothing more to continue volunteering in a local cafeteria and living a fulfilling, independent life.
"I'm in a wheelchair, but my brains are still here," said Moore, a Teaneck High School graduate.
"I want to stay busy in the community if I can."
More than $4,-00 had been raised on a GoFundMe as of Wednesday afternoon. She's hoping to accrue enough money to purchase a handicap-accessible van -- even a used one -- to simply continue life as she knows it.
The mom of two and new grandmother says the only good thing that came from March 14, 1997 was that while her son was hospitalized, doctors found a tumor in his head.
They both managed to survive, and Moore says he and her younger son -- along with faith in God and community service -- are what keep her going every day.
The world has been cruel to Moore, though. A simple commute leaves her broken-hearted and despondent.
"My self-esteem has been put to the test every week since my van has been taken away," said Moore, who has been relying on public transportation.
"I get dirty looks from people as if I'm holding real people from getting to work and maintaining their real and regular everyday lives."
Moore says she's no different than any of them. But despite all she's been through, she said:
"I'm glad i'm the one that ended up in the wheelchair. Not my sons."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Fort Lee and receive free news updates.
