Stabbed in heart, pregnant woman tries to keep hate out of the healing

Stabbed in heart, woman tries to keep hate out of the healing
A pregnant Seattle woman who police say was stabbed in the heart by her boyfriend earlier this month has returned home to recover. The injured woman and her baby will survive.

By Jennifer Sullivan

Seattle Times staff reporter

Lying in the yard of her neighbor's home earlier this month, Hortencia Salas felt a throbbing pain in her hip and sensed that she — and her unborn baby — were still in danger.

Above her stood her boyfriend. Salas said he was being restrained by their neighbor after punching her in the face, causing Salas, who is 5-½ months pregnant, to tumble down a flight of stairs. When the neighbors tried to help Salas into their North Seattle home, her boyfriend lunged forward and thrust a knife into her heart, she said.

"I saw all of the blood and I told my daughter everything was OK and I laid down and I passed out on the couch," recalled Salas, 36.

Police arrived a few minutes later and arrested Carlos Diaz-Galvin, of SeaTac, following the Aug. 16 attack outside the home of Salas' neighbors. He has been charged with first-degree domestic-violence assault, second-degree assault, third-degree assault and fourth-degree child assault.

Doctors at Harborview Medical Center were unsure at first whether Salas and her unborn son would live, Seattle police said. Salas said she underwent open-heart surgery and has permanent stitches in her heart.

How to help

A fund to help Hortencia Salas and her unborn son has been set up. Donations to the "Baby Boy Survivor Fund" can be made at any Bank of America branch.
Lying in the yard of her neighbor's home earlier this month, Hortencia Salas felt a throbbing pain in her hip and sensed that she — and her unborn baby — were still in danger.

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