A Woodstock gas station clerk who was attacked on the job on New Year’s Eve said she’s suffering physically, mentally and emotionally, cannot work, has no income or health insurance and has received no workmen’s compensation or unemployment benefits.

Talking exclusively to Shaw Local, the woman said she’s “taking everything moment by moment and doing what I can.”

The 63-year-old woman – who is not being named because she is the victim of a crime – is about 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. She was a longtime, avid runner who has completed multiple marathons.

For about the last three years, she’d never feared working alone at the Shell gas station at 110 N. Eastwood Drive in Woodstock, or walking there at 5:30 a.m. in the dark.

She was never concerned with the residents who live in the homeless camp nearby. They are her friends, she said.

But the morning of Dec. 31 changed everything and shattered that sense of security.

At about 9:45 a.m., according to authorities and the clerk, a man standing nearly 6 feet tall and weighing 290 pounds, who lived nearby in a residence for people with mental illness, was walking around outside the Shell station smoking a cigarette.

The clerk, who’d never seen the man before, said he came inside and padded around the store “dragging his feet.” He asked for the key to the bathroom, and she gave it to him.

She recalled feeling a sense of something being off.

After he returned from the bathroom, he asked for a job application, and the clerk responded that the store wasn’t hiring, according to authorities and the clerk. Standing close to the gate separating him from her behind the register, he said in a deep, intense voice and darkened eyes, “ ‘Are you sure?’ ” she said.

The next thing she knew, he pushed his way behind the counter and lunged at her. The attack was captured by a video surveillance camera.

Authorities identified the alleged attacker as Austin Silverman, 29. At his initial court appearance in January on charges including attempted murder, prosecutors said he “maliciously” beat the woman for more than two minutes. During that hearing, when asking for an attorney from the public defender’s office to represent him, Silverman calmly told McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb he had lived in housing in Woodstock through the nonprofit Thresholds for about eight years.

In arguing that Silverman was dangerous and should be detained in the county jail pretrial, Assistant State’s Attorney Justin Neubauer described what was seen on the surveillance video.

He said Silverman placed his entire body weight against the woman, hit her head into the wall three times, punched and kicked her.

She fought back.

Though she told Shaw Local she doesn’t remember some details of the attack, the video shows she grabbed a wooden club kept behind the counter and tried to defend herself with it, but Silverman grabbed it from her, beat her with it and pressed it against her neck, the prosecutor said.

Silverman then stopped the attack, went outside and smoked a cigarette in the parking lot, authorities said.

The woman said police showed her bloody handprints on the gas station’s panic button, showing she had pushed it during or after the attack, though she doesn’t remember that. She said police later tested the panic button and learned it wasn’t working, something authorities have not independently confirmed.

The woman recalled holding her phone and somehow, despite just being beaten, making it to the door and locking it. She first called her boyfriend, then the police. She later questioned why she didn’t call 911 first, but believes it’s because she thought the panic button would summon them.

Police have said that when they arrived, Silverman, who had tried to reenter the store after the woman locked the door, was putting a lit cigarette into the gas pump. Police said Silverman told them he wanted to blow up the gas station to “finish her off.”

The woman was left with bruises, lacerations, a bloodied eye and ear, and broken ribs. She also suffered shattered bones in her right arm – her dominant side – now held together with screws and pins.

Paramedics insisted she go to the hospital that morning, but she refused, though she did go a couple of days later.

Through a friend, the woman connected with Jacci Richards, founder of The Fisher Outreach Group. The nonprofit based in Crystal Lake helps residents, senior citizens, veterans and homeless people.

Richards and Crystal Lake attorney Daniel F. Curran, whom she works for, stepped up. Curran established an estate plan with a trust for the woman and an account called Gemma26Trust at Great Lakes Credit Union in Woodstock, where donations can be made. Fisher set up a GoFundMe for the woman, which is going live this week.

The woman said she is not one to ask for help, but has no income since the last paycheck she received following the attack. She said friends and strangers, even her landlord, have provided her with food and other necessities. A local attorney paid three months of her rent. Besides that help, she’s been living on savings, which she expects to run out this month.

Richards connected with a doctor who, knowing he may not get paid, performed the much-needed surgery to repair her arm. An infection caused her to spend five more days in the hospital on IV antibiotics and led to another surgery.

Richards said she is helping the woman because she knows “what it’s like to be a survivor and have no one to turn to for help.”

“Her strength is an inspiration, and we wanted to offer what we could during her healing journey,” Richards said, adding that her organization “works hard to support members of our community who are struggling. Even a small helping hand can make the world of difference to someone. Kindness matters.”

The woman said, for the first time in her life, she now sees a counselor who is providing her services for free.

Her ribs have healed. But she still needs help with basic daily tasks like walking her 70-pound dog. The physical injuries are healing, but she said the attack has changed her. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and cannot sleep, work, go for runs or walk outside alone.

“I am afraid to do the things I could do before,” she said.

The sound of a gate clicking or of someone dragging their feet, walking up behind her or toward her in a public space, causes panic and fear.

“When I began to go outside, I would be frozen if anyone was walking toward me or near me,” she said. “I would have to walk another way.”

She also cannot walk into a convenience store.

“I am taking everything moment by moment and doing what I can,” she said. “It changes every day. Some are good, and some are not. It is too soon to really know what the future holds because it’s only been 14 weeks since my life completely changed.”

Attempts to reach the owner or operator of the Woodstock Shell gas station were unsuccessful. When contacted via email, a spokesperson from Shell corporate responded:

“We are deeply saddened by the violent incident at the Shell‑branded retail site in Woodstock, Illinois, and our thoughts are with those affected. Shell has contacted the site owner to discuss appropriate next steps.”

Thresholds did not return a request for comment.

Silverman is charged with attempted murder, a Class X felony, but has been found unfit to stand trial. That means he will receive treatment through the state and could later be tried for the attack if found mentally fit.