Lawmakers have named a bill after a Central Florida woman who investigators said was stabbed and set on fire by her boyfriend.
Tayler Mack was 14 when she was attacked in 2009. Her family said the road to recovery has been painful, but they hope the incident sheds light on teen dating violence.
Mack, now 21, was a student at East Ridge High School in Clermont when she was stabbed 14 times by Calva Haskell, her boyfriend, who also set her on fire. She suffered injuries to her head and ear.
Mack was able to make it to the home of a neighbor, who called for help.
"We'll never understand the why. It'll never make sense to us. But we've healed in that regard of understanding that we're here now, but we're moving forward," Orange County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Dale Mack, the victim's father, said.
The law requires students in seventh through 12th grades to learn in health classes about the warning signs of dating violence.
"If by us having to go through this difficult time helps someone else, then it's all worth it. Our faith has really gotten us through it to where we understand now that's a part of it," Dale Mack said.
Haskell is serving a 30-year prison sentence for attempted murder.
Tayler Mack is studying to become a nurse and has had about 15 operations. Her father said she is about 50 percent recovered.
"Her recovery has been -- it is very difficult, both from the physical, emotional standpoint and the pain that she goes through, so that is why she wants to pursue the medical field and assist people in that way," Dale Mack said. The dating law was first approved in 2010.