Saving Face

The 26-year-old, who now lives on the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany where her husband is stationed, has been working closely with Rivas and Dissell on the script for the new play that revives demons from her past.

"I know it's going to be really tough," she says, noting that the play forces her to confront painful moments such as Ruiz sexually assaulting her while holding a knife to her throat.

"The whole purpose behind it is to raise awareness and to help people," she adds. "That's what keeps me going."

On the eve of her surgery in LA — exactly eight years to the day after her attack — she had a nightmare that began with Ruiz finding her hiding in her grandparents' basement and ended with the discovery of the phrase, "You will forever be mine" scrawled in Spanish on a wall.

"They're not as bad or as frequent as they used to be, but they feel so real," she says. "There are nights when I just dream about him attacking me."

Although Orozco-Fraser still suffers, she's turned her tragedy into her life's work, traveling to teen summits and high schools to advocate against teen domestic violence. In April, she took on a new series of seminars at military bases throughout Europe. Before the end of the year, she hopes to return to LA for a final surgery where doctors will round out her jaw.