SPRINGVILLE, Utah -- "In October 2011 I was hospitalized for trying to commit suicide four times." Those words are just one of a many that appear in a Sprinville teenager's video message about her suffering in life.
It surfaced nearly a year after her death. Reesa Kammerman's father is now sharing his daughter's story, which begins in darkness but ends in forgiveness.
"As far as daughters go, perfect," said Michael Kammerman of his daughter.
"I remember one day walking into her room and just seeing blood all over," he said.
Reesa went through more turbulence in life than most teenagers. At 14, she tried taking her own life, and after revelations of rape and molestation, her father got her into therapy. She came back with a smiling face, and once again began doing the things she loved, like playing guitar, but her sunshine was short-lived.
"That morning I got a phone call from the police department, said ‘Your daughter's in an accident," said Michael, describing the day his daughter died in a car accident.
Reesa was killed in a single rollover crash along 1-15 near St. George on July 28, 2013. She was revived three times. Showing her will to survive, the 16 year old hung on to life for 16 days, in a coma.
"As we were sitting there, the doctor had the machines turned off, so we couldn't hear the beeping, and I remember looking at him and he was looking at her, crying and saying, ‘oh Reesa, I wish we could have done more for you," Michael said.
The heartbroken father had lost his daughter and then nearly a year after her death, a video of daddy's little girl, spilling her secrets.
"My mom left when i was 9 for me to raise my 4 little brothers," Reesa writes on a notepad.
"I was raped three times!" she continues.
"The first couple minutes it's pretty hard to watch," said Michael, who was hesitant about putting up the clip of the video. "I was about to shut it off. I had to wait for a minute."
Michael pushed play again and watched as Reesa's story unfolded.
"I hated my life," she wrote.
"I didn't want to live anymore."
From the depths of darkness, a young woman found her light and a message she perhaps wanted to share with the world.
The video goes on to say, "I have a million reasons to live."
"I love my family."
"Forgive!"
"Forgive anyone who has ever hurt you."
"Forgive that one person who wasn't there when you needed them the most!"
"Most importantly...forgive yourself!"
"Even almost a year later, she's the one teaching us and at that point, whatever you want to call it, felt that this is a message that needs to be shared. If it even helps one person, Reesa would be happy," her father said.
Reesa's favorite color is purple, so her Dad hands out purple bracelets to random people that say "live, love, laugh."
