This young woman has been through the fire, but says she is a survivor and now wants to use her voice to give hope to others.
Seventeen years after a horrific attack that nearly claimed her life, Kaylin Nichols, 27, has bravely opened up about her ordeal.
She was just 10 years old when she was brutally raped, beaten with a hammer, and left for dead in a pool of her own blood.
Kaylin says she decided to speak up, after her husband encouraged her to write a book about her experience as part of her healing.
She says: "I want to inspire other young girls to hold their heads high and not give up. It really isn’t the end of the world.“
The mother of two remembers her nightmare on 25 May 2006 like it was on Monday.
She recalls: “It was Ascension Day. I can see myself in my grandparents house, when I heard a knock at the door. We were a house shop, so I went to check.
“This guy then pushed me into my grandma’s room and put a dishcloth in my mouth, he raped me.
“Then he took me into the bathroom and tried drowning me, I acted as if I was dead, and he carried me back to my granny’s room where he took out a hammer and knocked me over my head… I passed out.”
The next thing Kaylin remembers is waking up and sitting on a rock.
He adds: “This place was white all around, then I heard a voice and in front of me was a very bright light, the voice told me it wasn't my time yet, I needed to go back to granny, then I woke up in hospital. Only now do I realise that that voice was God.”
Kaylin was told by doctors that she would never be able to have children due to the extent of her injuries.
She explains: “I went on with my life, but it wasn’t easy.
“I dropped out of school, because I couldn’t focus and because the injuries was visible, everyone was asking what happened and am I that girl who was raped.”
She was 17 when she had her son, and four years later her daughter was born.
Kaylin adds: “This is where again God showed me that He is real, because doctors were wrong.”
The mom found strength in faith and wants to help other survivors find themselves again.
She says: “I still cry when I see stories of young girls that get raped, I know their trauma and how they feel but I want them to know if I could make it they can too. I want my story to inspire them.”
Kaylin’s granny Rachel Wright, who found her on that fateful day, believes her grandchild “is a walking testimony”.
The proud ouma says: “God has very big plans for Kaylin and today she is the happiest person I know, I am proud of the person she became.”
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says a suspect was arrested, but the case was withdrawn in court, based on a lack of evidence.
He adds: “However, as new information arises, the docket will be re-allocated to detectives to pursue new information and to expend investigation.”