A New View: The Intersection of Domestic Violence & Infant Mortality

Attending the National Association of Commissions for Women Annual Conference was fantastic. The panel on health and wellbeing of women was enlightening.

Focusing on the issues of infant mortality and domestic violence—it hit home. My father, Mike Rinder, brutally abused my mother. My baby sister died weeks after birth. It was heartbreaking for my mom. My father was unmoved. I never put two and two together until today—from the panel I learned about the intersection of domestic violence and infant mortality.

It is possible my baby sister’s death resulted from the stress and emotional abuse my family was experiencing from my father.

Only years earlier when I was an infant, my father shook me violently when I awoke him in the middle of the night screaming.

Luckily my mother grabbed me, preventing what could have been fatal. Today was an eye-opening day, one which strengthened further my resolve. It is about the bigger picture.

Men who abuse women cannot be awarded. They cannot be on TV or be given a platform.

Violence against women and children must be stopped. Justice4mom

My Father Mike Rinder is in Denial—But That Doesn’t Change the Facts

My father continues to deny that he abused my mother. So I decided to make this video to show you my personal photos of her injuries. They prove beyond any doubt that Mike Rinder brutally assaulted my mother. He can deny it all he wants. These photos don’t lie – because of him my mom will never regain full use of her arm.

Are you listening Disney? Are you listening AETV? I want #justice4Mom #FireMikeRinder.

I've been talking a lot about denial and the fact that my father Mike Rinder is in denial regarding the abuse he inflicted on my mom. So I decided to show some of the pictures that I took at the time that she was injured. I wanted to show thetruthwith this video.

In the first photo I show in the video, you can see she has a bandage on her arm and there's a huge gouge and bruising. You can see where a large piece of flesh was taken out of her arm. That photo was taken the day he assaulted her. I saw him do this—I saw the entire thing.

The next photo I show on the video is about 11 days after it happened. Her arm is completely swollen and bruised.

Then there’s a photo that was taken about four months later. It shows her shoulder—it's out of place and that's because her bone was actually cracked and then pulled right out. That photo was taken right before she got her surgery.

Despite the surgery, It's been seven years or more now and she still cannot fully use her arm, she can't write a whole letter. She cannot use her arm to any extent that a normal person can.

So really the point of the video is to show how he really isin denial and I thought the best way to prove that is to show the truth—to show what really happened and that the abuse did happen and that Mike Rinder didabuse her. He physically did that to her body.

I want him fired because he's allowed to be on TV right now and yet he abuses women and he domestically and emotionally abused myself and my brother and my mom, throughout my whole life.

Abuse Recounting

What was it like watching my father, Mike Rinder, physically attacking my mother? Something I don’t wish on any daughter…

Hello and welcome to my podcast.

This is Taryn Teutsch and I am here with you as Justice for mom. Which is my campaign. In recent months and actually the last year there's been many, many, very brave women that have come out to speak up against men who abuse them.

Both sexually and domestically and even emotionally. And it was around that point when I went wait a minute -- the same thing happened to my mom. So what's the difference between her and one of these other women that got abused and then their abusers get away with it, and it's swept under the carpet and you, you know, and it's just A-ok.

So, at that point, I kind of took a step back and, and that's really when I kind of went on a roll and I was like "no, this is not right." I have to have the guts to stand up and say what happened. And actually do something about it and get it to -- and make a difference. And also, you know, the inspiration I got from many, many women around the world that have been brave enough to tell their story despite, you know, that's not very nice to have to say what happened to you.

And so these women around the world, as I said, you know, I kinda took a look at it and I was like "wow". OK, this is what I need to do -- I need to make a difference. I need to help end domestic abuse and it's gonna start with getting justice for my mom.

I was with my mom one time when my father abused her. Being there...while...my father, Mike Rinder, was physically attacking my mother...was...something that I don't wish on any child. I absolutely, 100 percent did not expect it.

We had gone there with my Uncle, who came from Australia. We went to go and actually have a conversation with him, with Mike Rinder. And in the course of doing this, he could not...He couldn't even listen to us or hear anything my mom had to say. He was just yelling "you Bitch. You bitch" and grabbed her arms and he had her arms in a vice-grip, I guess. And both her arms were crossed over and he's holding them and he - he's not a small guy. And my mom's 5'3" and she weighs, I don't know, 110 pounds or something. Maybe 115. She's pretty small.

And and she's yelling "you're hurting me. you're hurting me." and he's like " you Bitch. You bitch" Spittle coming out of his mouth. And...and I'm looking in his eyes -- and...and this is -- seems like a fraction of a second, this all went down. So by the time I'm going "Get off her!" And she's saying "you're hurting me." By this time her shoulder was already cracked.

And, she will tell you, she heard her bones crack. and she -- she was just in so -- in so much pain she - she wasn't sure if she was going to collapse.

So that's what happened to her shoulder that -- at that moment. And being there was just...it was scary! I-I-I really -- I don't know how -- how to get it across to you, but standing there watching your father -- or seeing him in front of your eyes, uh, psychotically trying to hurt somebody. Someone that you love. Is...is the scariest thing you will ever experience, let me tell you. So, that's what it was like.

It wasn't fun, and… You know I really also didn't like the fact that as a child, as a daughter, you look up to your father and he's like "Daddy!" you know. And there he is - this monster standing in front of you and it's such a disappointment. I was so disappointed and like, shell-shocked, that, that was really who he was, and like, that's what - this is what was coming out.

And it wasn't toward a stranger, it wasn't toward somebody that was trying to hurt him. It was toward my mom. And his wife of 30 years. And the, the mother of his two children. So, it was scary. And it was -- it was unbelievable. So there we were, standing there, trying to communicate with him and he somehow or another and I don't know -- it was -- it was such a flash. But, next thing you know, he's got her - both her hands, which were crossed in a tight grip. And he's pulling down on her hands and, and, pulling her shoulder out of it's socket to the point of actually cracking it.

And, that's not to mention...I don't know what he had in his hands -- maybe some keys to his car or something -- but it, that also gouged her flesh. like, when I, when she took the bandages off -- 'cause she was like "god, T, it still hurts. it still hurts." The same day. Later on. And she took the bandages off and I'm like "Oh my God! Mom!" and it was -- I mean, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I - I just - I couldn't believe it.

I didn't realize that it had actually taken, I don't know, how much that is. Like, a, a centimeter worth of flesh out of her forearm. And it was quite a big gash. It was not small. Um, probably like, you know, 5 inches or so. So that had also happened while he was grabbing her.

But the rage in his eyes and you could tell he really, really had an axe to grind with her. And he, he hated her. He hatedher.

So he pulls down her arms. Pulls it out of the socket, cracks her shoulder.

Gives a whole - her, her a huge gauge on her arm, much less, bruises on the - on both arms and other abrasions kind of throughout her arms. Good - so we're now 8 years later. And she still has not recovered. She's had to have surgery. She's had to have physical therapy. She's had to see many, many doctors. Have, special treatments to try to get her shoulder to stop hurting her.

Much less ever be normal again. Like, she has been told "You will never have the full use of your arm again." because of what Mike Rinder did that day. And it's - you know the first year she spent months and months in recovery from the surgery. Which her doctor told her that the surgery she had was equivalent to getting a leg or an arm amputated.

In terms of the severity of how much they had to do to correct it or the extent of the, of the surgery. So that's not - that's not a small thing. So, um, for many, many months, probably more like a year, I was very extensively helping her, I mean, helping her with everything.

Like, getting dressed, putting on her, you know, making her bed, putting away her sheets. Getting food. I mean, she couldn't use her arm at all and thus the hand and that, that whole kind of side of her body. We had to get special shirts made that opened on the side so that she could get dressed.

Because she couldn't move that arm. That's how bad it was. and that was like months, and months and months of intensive recovery. Then, uh, going on from there, the last 8 years, um, it's just been this same thing. Like I'm, I'm constantly helping her -- I do many things she can't do now because she doesn't have the full use of both her arms. Or her right arm is incapacitated to that degree. I do all those things for her.

Which I love, that's not the point. The point is, he harmed her so badly she will never recover and that's not right.

My campaign of Justice for mom and sort of the back-story of the physical abuse that led up to, to now, this year, me with a vengeance working on my campaign. And that came about as I said earlier, by so many inspiring women coming out and actually wanting to make a difference in the fight against sexual, emotional and domestic abuse of women.

And so along the way, there's been so many really caring, friendly, helpful women along the way. And men, the - tons of people basically have supported me on social media, the events I go to, you know, on Facebook and Twitter and everything and I really appreciate that.

Now, my goals for this campaign are really - first and foremost to get Mike Rinder fired. I want Disney and A&E to fire him because he should not be on TV, he should not be in front of a viewing audience. And, there's plenty of documented evidence of his abuse. And the fact that he has I would say, like, like a streak of abuse. Whether it be physical or emotional, it's rampant. And it's not right. And I want him off TV and I want him fired.

So I have some future pod casts already planned. My next one that I would like to take up immediately, right off the bat, is actually about denial. Specifically, and very pertinent to my story and my campaign. My father, Mike Rinder, is in denial. And about pretty much everything that I've brought up. Or, the stories I've told, or my mom told, or my brother has told he has um, denied. And that's what I want to cover on my next pod cast.

So to end here for today on my first podcast I'd like to thank everybody who subscribed to this podcast and all the thousands of people along the way who have supported me on social media. This is a very important issue, meaning, domestic violence, so, once again, thank you very much for listening. I'm not going to stop until I have justice for my mom.