'Stranger threw acid in my face - I've had 70 surgeries and docs had to amputate my ear'

WARNING, GRAPHIC IMAGES: Katie Gee, from London, was connected a travel of a beingness erstwhile a masked attacker abruptly threw acerb successful her look whilst she was walking down the thoroughfare successful Zanzibar, East Africa

A pistillate had to acquisition 70 surgeries and person her receptor amputated aft a alien hurled acerb successful her look whilst she was connected a imagination unpaid trip.

Katie Gee, 29, from North West London, was near scarred for beingness during her overseas travel to Zanzibar, East Africa. She was heading to meal erstwhile a random person, who was riding a scooter, pulled up beside her and threw the substance astatine her. She rapidly rushed to the closest bath and to lavation her look arsenic she screamed for help.

Eventually, a mates helped get her much h2o whilst she was successful "agony". The volunteer initially thought that she was attacked with "scalding coffee" until she noticed a "pungent smell". Describing the ordeal, Katie said her apparel were "melting off" and had to spell into "fight mode" aft the frightening attack.

Katie was rushed to a section infirmary and enactment connected a formation to London for further attraction astatine Chelsea and Westminster Hospital the adjacent day. She said: "I was conscionable walking to meal erstwhile 2 guys pulled up," Katie, from North West London, said. They stopped for a 2nd earlier thing happened. I thought it mightiness person been scalding coffee. In notation to a exemplary who was attacked with acerb by an ex-boyfriend, she added: " I knew it wasn't h2o due to the fact that it had a pungent odor and I knew astir Katie Piper."

She added: "It was the astir rational I've ever been. I knew determination was a edifice with a ablution truthful I ran consecutive there. I was successful combat mode. I knew it was acid due to the fact that my look was greenish and my apparel were melting off. I was screaming for assistance and nary 1 was helping astatine archetypal but a mates came implicit and got maine immoderate bottled water. I can't picture the pain. It was worse than anyone could ever imagine."

Katie was fixed saline astatine the local hospital but they ran retired and determination was nary moving water. She past went to a adjacent edifice and stood nether the excavation shower. Katie said: "The pistillate who came to assistance maine was holding towels astir maine due to the fact that I was fundamentally bare aft my apparel had melted off. Somehow, my parents arranged getting maine connected a aesculapian formation home. All this clip I had nary symptom relief. I was successful agony, it was similar erstwhile you enactment your manus successful boiling h2o and weirdly, it feels acold for a second."

Katie spent much than 2 months successful hospital, undergoing surgeries including tegument grafts and having her close receptor amputated. She had 35% burns connected her face, arm, tummy and leg. She received grafts from donor tegument and had to person a humor transfusion. Doctors besides built her a caller receptor utilizing cartilage from her ribs. Katie said: "I got a humor corruption from the acerb and I was having country each different day. Once I'd near hospital, I'd person to spell backmost for much surgeries and enactment for weeks.

"It got worse arsenic clip progressed. When I archetypal saw myself, I was freaking out. I didn't look similar the aforesaid person. When I had surgeries, I had scars that were truthful reddish and aggravated and contracted. I was astatine my lowest." It took 5 years for Katie to afloat recover. She decided beingness is excessively abbreviated to attraction astir what different radical deliberation and utilized the enactment of her friends and household to regain her confidence. "I worked hard astatine my occupation which gave maine assurance due to the fact that it gave maine a caller purpose," she said.

"My friends and household built maine up and I realised beingness is excessively short. I unfollow anyone who makes maine consciousness atrocious astir myself due to the fact that societal media is simply a pugnacious place." Having since recovered but present near with scars, Katie says her quality has made her "more fussy" with partners - arsenic she won't day anyone who judges radical connected their looks. She recovered emotion 1 twelvemonth agone with spouse Michael, 29. She said: "It was hard putting myself retired determination to conscionable someone. My spouse is truly supportive, knowing and kind."

The men who attacked Katie haven't been caught. The incidental took spot successful 2013 but she is present sharing her communicative to reassure victims of acid attacks that they tin get their assurance back. Katie added: "I consciousness much assured but each time I'm reminded. I person scars everyplace and sometimes I look successful the reflector and spot that idiosyncratic who was reddish and scarred.

"I'm blessed to beryllium live and healthy. If anyone other is going done this, they should papers their betterment truthful they tin spot however acold they've travel erstwhile they're having a down day. Anyone who has immoderate carnal difference, beryllium affirmative and everyone other beryllium affirmative towards them. Social media is specified a hard place, I privation radical to consciousness assured successful their ain skin. They should situation themselves with bully and supportive people."