09/07/2026
THE NUMBERS TELL US THIS STORY IS FAR TOO COMMON.
**CONTENT NOTE: Childhood sexual abuse and trauma**
In Kentucky, 65% of adults reported experiencing at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) growing up.
And 14.7% of Kentucky adults reported experiencing sexual abuse during childhood — nearly 1 in every 7 Kentuckians.
Behind every statistic is a person.
A child who grew up.
An adult who learned how to survive.
And sometimes, a person who carried the effects of what happened to them for years before ever understanding why.
Today, one of our own is choosing to tell her story.
At Hometown Health System, we are incredibly grateful to Cindy Phillips, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, for having the courage to share something deeply personal — not because it is easy to talk about, but because she hopes her vulnerability might help someone else recognize their own pain, seek help, or simply realize they are not alone.
Cindy's Story
For a long time, I didn’t understand how much of what happened to me as a child had shaped the woman I became.
As a teenager, I became promiscuous. Looking back, I realize I was trying to find control over something that had taken control away from me far too young.
I also developed a deep resistance to being told what to do by men. I didn’t want a man controlling me, making decisions for me, or telling me who I was supposed to be.
It took me many years to learn to cope with pain I didn’t know how to process.
As I grew older, I began to heal. I began to understand that what happened to me was not my fault.
I can’t change what happened to that little girl, but I can love her. I can protect her. And I can tell her that she survived.
I am more than what happened to me.
— Cindy Phillips, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Childhood trauma does not always stay in childhood. It can influence relationships, boundaries, self-worth, trust, behavior, mental health, physical health, and the ways a person learns to protect themselves long after the traumatic experience has ended.
Sometimes healing begins simply by understanding the connection. And sometimes it begins when another person has the courage to say:
This happened to me too.
Cindy is sharing her story because there may be someone reading this who has spent years questioning their own behaviors, emotions, relationships, or reactions without understanding where they came from.
There may be someone who has never told anyone.
Someone who still carries shame that never belonged to them.
Or someone who needs to know that what happened during one chapter of their life does not get to write the rest of their story.
You can survive.
You can heal.
You can reclaim your story.
And you are so much more than what happened to you.
Thank you, Cindy, for being willing to turn something incredibly painful into a source of hope for someone else.
At Hometown, we believe the TEST that we face and overcome turn into TESTIMONIES. We believe healthcare is about caring for the whole person — their physical health, mental health, experiences, challenges, and the story that brought them to where they are today.
Kentucky statistics: Kentucky Department for Public Health, Kentucky Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, 2020.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault or abuse and needs confidential support, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or by texting HOPE to 64673
