Mom survives after police say she was set on fire

HIRAM, Ga. - Scars cover most of her body, but Melita Curtis still wears a bright smile.

"I feel great.  I'm here.  I'm alive.  I'm happy," she said.

Curtis, 35, survived a brutal attack on June 1.  Clayton County Police said her ex-boyfriend, Mervin Woodard, doused Curtis with gasoline inside her home and lit her on fire.  Woodard, according to investigators, later dropped Curtis at Grady Memorial Hospital before taking off with her car.

He was arrested two days later when neighbors spotted the stolen Toyota Camry parked in the subdivision.  Woodard was allegedly hiding out in the attic of Curtis's home.

"I would be lying if I said I haven't had an angry day or a day I just want to yell and scream, because I have, you know, my life has changed.  I'm changed physically, but my life has changed for the better because now I'm able to talk to you," explained Curtis.  "I am not a talker at all, but now I have a voice, so I have to let it be heard."

Curtis spoke out about the incident for the first time this weekend.  She appeared on a friend's internet talk show on 108PraiseRadio.

"No human being has that right to take our lives or even to disfigure us," she told listeners, but she said she has accepted her scars.

"This actually, believe it or not, was somewhat of a blessing to me because now I'm not ashamed anymore of myself," Curtis said.  "And I'm scarred not by me doing any harm to me;  somebody else did this to me, but it's freed me.  I'm not ashamed to show my scars.   I'm not ashamed to let people see.  I want people to see because there needs to be an awareness."

Curtis said she plans to join with other domestic violence advocates to help educate people.

"I know God has a plan for me.  He always has and it was to spread a message to the world, not maybe not necessarily about domestic violence, but hey, whatever God puts in front of my thus far, I have to, you know, go forward and spread the message.  I have to.  It's my duty to the world," she reasoned.

Doctors at Grady Hospital were able to repair most of Curtis's burns with a single skin-graft surgery, but she remains in physical therapy for damage done to her left arm.  Curtis is grateful to all the doctors and nurses who helped her recover, as well as all those who prayed for her to pull through.

Curtis said she has a new outlook on life.  The formerly shy, reserved mother of one now considers herself to be a strong, outspoken survivor.

"It's a touchy subject.  Being a victim is never a place you want to be because you have no control," she explained.  "So, I am a survivor because I have control.  I have my peace back.  I am in control of Melita Curtis.  I took that back and I am thrilled to be a survivor.  I'm thrilled to be amongst the people in the world.  I'm thrilled to be able to raise my daughter.  I'm thrilled to be a daughter to my mother and my father.  I'm thrilled to be a sister."

Donations to "Praying for Melita" can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank location.