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The mail carrier who was stabbed last week while working in the Twinbrook neighborhood of Rockville told reporters late Tuesday afternoon that she could feel the knife entering her abdomen.

"I thought I was dead at one point," she said.

She hopes telling her story will lead to the capture and arrest of her assailant.

Rockville police are following leads in the case, but they do not have any suspects, officials said.

"I feel like I am handicapped," the 31-year-old letter carrier said. "It's tough. It's hard. It's a horrifying experience. Sometimes I wish it were a dream, but it's still there."

The postal worker's name is not being released because she is a witness to the crime, police said.

She was treated at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda and released Thursday afternoon. Police say she is resting at home and is expected to make a full recovery. Before the press conference, a doctor removed stitches from two deep cuts on her left palm sustained during the attack.

Shortly before 3 p.m. Dec. 8, Rockville City Police were called to the intersection of Halpine Road and Alsace Lane where they found the female letter carrier with a single stab wound to her abdomen, police said.

Rockville Capt. Robert J. Rappoport, who is in charge of the investigation, said police have received about two dozen tips, but none of the tips has led to anything.

Police released a composite sketch of the suspect. The assailant is described as a Hispanic man, possibly in his 30s, and 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black gloves, a black knit hat and black pants.

The letter carrier told reporters it had been a normal day of mail delivery up until the attack. She was sitting in her truck preparing to deliver mail to Alsace Lane when a man came to the door and began shouting in Spanish. He smelled of alcohol, the letter carrier said, and she noticed another man behind her attacker.

"I've never had someone in my face attacking me like that," the letter carrier said.

She said she tried to escape, but the attacker blocked her exit.

When she saw the knife she tried to grab the man's hand, but he stabbed her in the lower abdomen on her right side.

She saw the men drive off and she called 9-1-1 despite having trouble focusing, she said.

"I was just trying to stay alive," she said. "It was a fight for my life."

The letter carrier thinks her attacker wanted the mail.

"I've always been a very happy person all my life," she said. "I don't know why someone would choose to hurt me. He would have gotten what he wanted."

The next thing the letter carrier remembers is waking up in the hospital.

Now that she is back home, she is finding new challenges.

"It's hard to eat, it's hard to sleep," she said. "I have no appetite. I hear things like someone is coming into the house. It's very scary."

Neighbors in the quiet community were shocked to hear about the violent attack, but said they aren't scared to go on with their daily lives.

Joan Miller, 80, did not see what happened but saw the mail truck around 2:30 p.m. and said nothing appeared to be out of place. Then she went upstairs and looked out again and saw a police cruiser swoop in and an officer rush from the car and pull the woman from the mail truck. The officer began administering first aid, Miller said.

"Within maybe two minutes there were seven or eight police cars here," she said. "Then an ambulance came next."

Miller said she and her husband, Forrest, 85, have lived in their home for 45 years. Over that time, they've seen the neighborhood transform.

"Twinbrook Parkway wasn't even here when we moved in," she said with a laugh. "That used to all be woods. Then the shopping went in, then the Metro station."

Tree-lined Halpine Road is also lined with parking meters for commuters looking for a place to park and walk to the Twinbrook Metro station, which is less than two blocks away.

"People walk down [Halpine Road] to go to the Metro, so we see strangers all the time," Miller said. "We started seeing more blacks and Hispanics in the area. It never worried me. I never felt unsafe. Maybe I'm an optimist."

Rockville Planning Commissioner and former City Councilman John Tyner II lives in Halpine Village, less than two blocks from where the attack occurred. He said the neighborhood is quiet and crimes like this do not happen regularly.

"I've lived here 38 years, and it's a very stable neighborhood," he said. "Once in a while we have a burglary, but that's about it. This is the first assault that I'm aware of in this area."

He noted that there is a Neighborhood Watch program in the area.

Miller said she is confident the assailant will be caught.

"It seems strange to everyone, it's a great neighborhood," she said.

Police believe the assailant got into a teal- or mint green-colored Dodge Neon or similar car, with a spoiler attached to the trunk. Another person was driving the car.

The U.S. Postal Service is offering up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the crime.

U.S. Postal Service inspectors are investigating whether anything was stolen from her mailbag or mail truck.

The Rockville City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Unit, U.S. postal inspectors and Montgomery County Police are investigating the incident.

Police are asking anyone who might have seen the man or witnessed the incident to call 240-314-8938.

To contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, call 877-876-2455.