I almost died at 17 when twisted stranger stabbed me & my kidney ripped apart but my partner has made me feel safe again
KAYLEIGH White was given just a one per cent chance of survival when she was knifed in the back by a crazed stranger at the age of 17.
Lee Jeffries-Jones ran riot in Yeovil, Somerset, after vowing to "kill 20 people" following a row with a friend in June 2014.
Kayleigh, now 21, was walking to a friend's house on the Sunday afternoon when she was grabbed by Jeffries-Jones, 31, who asked "are you alright?" before plunging a knife into her.
The blade went so deep it chopped Kayleigh's kidney in half, snipped the top off her pancreas, pierced her stomach and damaged her spleen.
Kayleigh collapsed but, realising her attacker was standing over her, managed to drag herself to her friend Liv's house - where she begged for help.
Quick-thinking Kayleigh asked Liv to take a photo of her attacker, who was still holding the bread knife, which was used in evidence in court.
They then rushed to hospital, with Liv cradling her in the back seat of the car, using a towel to put pressure on the wound.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital, Liv said: "I was in agony. I pleaded with doctors to let me die.
"I didn’t want to feel that pain any more as it was unbearable. Everything inside me hurt."
In hospital, Kayleigh's clothes were cut off and doctors drilled into her kneecap to give her a blood transfusion, as her veins had all collapsed.
During a 10-hour operation, doctors cut from under her breasts to her pubic bones, leaving her with 40 staples in her body, to stop the bleeding.
I was in agony. I pleaded with doctors to let me die
Kayleigh White
High on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, Jeffries-Jones went onto attack a mum washing her car, stabbing her in the arm, and a dad putting his baby into a car seat.
Luckily, the knife snapped as he attacked the man - who managed to overpower and detain him.
He had been out of jail for just two months when he launched the attack, following a previous jail term for burglary.
Kayleigh spent four months in hospital recovering from her horrendous injuries, before being able to go home.
She was left a nervous wreck by the unprovoked attacked. She said: "The attack was random and had come out of nowhere, so I thought it could happen again.
"I was so scared - I still haven’t been out on my own since it happened.
"For the first 18 months I had to hold hands with my mum if I left the house, which must have looked ridiculous.
"Now my partner Karl Jenner, 25, stands behind me so no-one can touch me. He makes me feel safe."
I was so scared - I still haven’t been out on my own since it happened
Kayleigh White
Kayleigh was prescribed the opioid Tapentadol to help her cope with the pain - and told to take the tablets three times-a-day.
She was also prescribed a liquid solution of the drug, in case the pain became worse.
But she soon became hooked on her meds, which are highly addictive.
Kayleigh said: "It wasn’t long before I realised it stopped my anxiety.
"I began sipping more of it to stop me having nightmares and flashbacks of the attack.
"It made me not resent being a prisoner in my home and being scared all the time."
Tapentadol and opioids: the facts
Tapentadol is an opiod sometimes prescribed by the NHS to treat severe, chronic pain.
Opioids are a group of morphine-type medicines, which are addictive.
Tapentadol's common side effects include feeling sick, constipation, dizziness, drowsiness and headaches.
If you follow the prescribed dose, the NHS say it's rare for someone who's taking tapentadol to become addicted.
But you may become dependent, meaning stopping taking it suddenly could cause side effects like feeling restless or irritable.
Tapentadol has a lower substance abuse risk than other opiods medicines, like morphine.
Opiods can kill if misused.
In 2016, 3,700 people died from drug misuse in England and Wales - and 2,000 of these deaths involved opioids.
But these figures include deaths from heroin, which is made from morphine.
Kayleigh's doctor realised her prescriptions were ramping up and confronted her in late 2016.
She had already been hooked on the drugs for 21 months, but agreed to slowly reduce her dose to wean herself off Tapentadol.
She said: "Eventually my GP realised I was getting through more prescriptions than I should have.
"I missed the warm and fuzzy feeling it gave me but I didn’t want to be an addict."
Kayleigh's doctor wanted to send her to rehab but she refused, and weaned herself off the drugs at home over a three-month period.
Still traumatised from the attack, Kayleigh soon replaced the opioids with alcohol - sipping vodka throughout the day and going on benders.
She said: "At the time, it was the only way she could think of to stop the nightmares I was having and flashbacks to the attack during the day."
This continued for two months, before Kayleigh realised the habit was getting out of hand. She hardly touches alcohol now.
At the time, it was the only way she could think of to stop the nightmares I was having and flashbacks to the attack during the day
Kayleigh White
Before the attack, Kayleigh had dreamed of a career as a police officer and hoped to study forensics.
But she was diagnosed with PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder, triggered by the stabbing, meaning she couldn't join the force.
This latest blow plunged her into depression.
But meeting Karl and becoming a mum to Isla, 19 months, and 11-week-old baby Francesca gave her a new focus.
Kayleigh is currently on maternity leave from her job as a specialist English teaching assistant.
She said: "Being a mum is the best job in the world and I’m happier than I’ve ever been."
In February 2016, Jeffries-Jones was jailed for 20 years at Taunton Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty to attempted murder for stabbing Kayleigh and to two counts of wounding with intent for the other attacks.
He won't be eligible for parole until 2026.
Kayleigh said: "I tried to meet my attacker in jail but he refused. I wanted to meet him so that I could put the past behind me.
"I want to make sure he understands everything he’s put me through and never thinks about picking up a knife again."
Last week, we spoke to a mum whose daughter died of a heroin overdose on her childhood bedroom floor at 28 – she got hooked from one hit at uni.