Pittsburgh-area domestic violence survivor shares her story to raise awareness

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It’s something that can happen in urban, rural, and suburban communities.

Data shows that in Allegheny County alone last year, 12 people died from intimate partner homicides.

That accounted for about 11% of all the county’s homicide victims, and that figure is slightly up from 2023.

The hug that domestic violence survivor Jen Pardini received on Wednesday is one of gladness and gratitude.

“Dr. Leonardo saved me. She saved my life,” Pardini, 28, said.

She is not embellishing that statement. Pardini said her ex-boyfriend, with whom she had been dating for about two and a half years, brutally attacked her with a hammer. She said he kicked her, too.

All of it shattered her skull, knocked out multiple teeth, and left her with permanent eye damage.

“She was beaten so badly that she actually had [brain matter] coming out of her skull,” said Dr. Jody Leonardo, a neurosurgeon at AHN who performed the surgeries Pardini needed.

People like Leonardo see a lot, but this remains fresh in her mind.

“That was a day here that many people who were working that day will never forget,” she said.

Pardini now has some fake teeth. She says she’s having another surgery to match her eye height, but she says she’s in much better spirits.

“I can talk, I can walk, the other day I went for a bike ride,” she said.

Now, during this Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Pardini is sharing her story.

“I’ve done a lot over the past few weeks,” she said. “I spoke with a domestic violence organization.”

Pardini is hoping that what she went through can serve as a resource.

“I’m just starting out, but I want to every year do more and more in order to help,” she said.

Kristin Lazzara, the director of strategic operations at AHN’s Center for Inclusion Health, said part of AHN’s approach includes normalizing the conversation.

That means training doctors, nurses, and staff members to recognize signs of domestic violence.

Lazzara encourages people who may be experiencing domestic violence to talk to their health care provider, their doctor, or their nurse.

She said the signs are not always visible, that there is a whole spectrum of unhealthy relationships and domestic violence.

“They might have emotional or financial abuse,” Lazzara said. “They might not be able to leave their house when they want to or use their credit card.”

Lazzara said there are four domestic violence organizations in Allegheny County alone, and 57 across the state.