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Model Katie Piper's struggle after rape and acid attack
Monday, 19 October 2009
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A model and aspiring TV presenter who had sulphuric acid thrown in her face has revealed details of her courageous battle to recover and pioneering surgery to treat her burns.
Katie Piper was left fighting for her life when her jealous boyfriend Daniel Lynch raped her and then arranged for another man to throw the corrosive liquid on her.
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The acid burned through all four layers of skin on her face and some spilled down her throat, damaging it so badly that she needs to be fed through a tube into her stomach.
She was left blind in one eye and has undergone more than 30 operations on her face and throat. Surgeons had to remove the skin from her entire face and use an artificial skin substitute and skin grafts from other parts of her body to rebuild it.
The 26-year-old's recovery will feature in a Channel 4 documentary later this month, and she has waived her right to anonymity over the sexual assault. In the film, she says she was a “fun person” before the attack on March 31 last year.
She said: “I was a fun person. I had lots of friends. If I went somewhere and people met me for the first time they would say ‘Oh, you're really pretty’ and I would think ‘Yeah, I am’.”
In the wake of the attack and only able to communicate by writing, she told her mother Diane “kill me”.
She now wears a plastic pressure mask for 23 hours a day to flatten her scars and keep in moisture.
She said: “I think I've got the chance to build a life.
“I don't it's going to be that easy, but I wanna try. I want to move on from my attack, and I don't want to be a scared little child. I want to blossom into a confident, able woman.”
”My dream would be just to live a normal life and after all this be able to meet somebody again and learn to trust a guy and the normal dream: a girl wants to get married and have kids.”
She has thanked the hospital staff who saved her life and have cared for her since the attack.
“Coming to terms with the fact that my life as I knew it before the acid attack was over, and that my facial appearance had changed forever, has been incredibly difficult,” she said. “I wouldn't have been able to rebuild my life without the support of all the staff at Chelsea and Westminster.
“I want to say thank you to everyone in the Burns Service, in particular my surgeon Mohammad Jawad who has done an amazing job of rebuilding my face - it has exceeded my expectations of what I ever thought would be medically possibly. I'm absolutely thrilled.”
She told the News of the World that she had decided to go public to raise awareness of the plight of burns victims.
Miss Piper said: “I've decided to tell my story so that people know what these men did to me. To help people understand who have ignorance about people that look different, and for people not to be frightened of burns and the stigma attached to it, to understand that it's still the same person underneath.”
Katie: My Beautiful Face will be shown on Channel 4 at 9pm on Thursday, October 29.
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Comments
154 Comments
Hello . I'm jacky and i saw you in the tv . i was shocked . I come from germany near bremen. i feel with you .. I think you are very strong. I have respekt for you.Sorry for my mistaks in this text . I don't speak perfekt english . sorry. Love wishes . jackie .. i will be very happy when i get a answer from you .
Posted by Jackie | 03.02.10, 10:02 GMT
Dear Katie, being a man I am ashamed for what has been done to you. The thing that will help you most in your healing is your kindness
and cheerfullness, surgery and time
will I'm sure do the rest. My thougts
are with you and hope that you recover as soon as possible
Posted by Britton Anthony | 28.01.10, 22:20 GMT
Katie, Hi,my name is Rachel.I am 11 years old , and you are my hero.I have learned so much about you in the past few weeks.It is a terrible thing that has happened to you.It is a good thing that he is in jail.I have watched almost every video there is about you.No one should have to go through what you did.Once again you really are my hero,and that will never change. Sincerely, Rachel :)
Posted by Rachel | 27.01.10, 01:19 GMT
Dear katie,
I just watched your documentary and you have completly touched my life. I understand that this is an unfortunate situation to learn about how wonderful you are, but you are amazing. After watching your documentary, you have become one of my biggest heros of all time. I am sure you already know this but i wanted to say that you are absolutly amazing, you are gorgeous inside and out. I really cant speak enough about how much you have impacted my life. I wish I could meet you and thank you, I wish you all the greatness and happiness in the world you deserve every minute of happiness. You are so strong, so determined and so courageous and most of all so optimistic. I can only hope to be half as optimistic and strong as you have been. Thank you once again, and always remember you are a beautiful, smart and great women, nothing will ever change that. God bless you always and forever.
Posted by Jessica Smith | 21.01.10, 00:24 GMT
My wife of 24 years has very simular injuries to her face caused by an auto accident she was in. The injuries were to her left eye,jar,ear and her chin. the injuries where pretty devastating but that didn't keep her from going on with her life. Like you my wife is a beauiful women with severe injuries and she did not let that stop her from going on with her life. when I first met her what I saw was that beauty she possesed, we where married 6mo. later. She went on to have 13 more surgories before she felt she had reach a point of satifaction with her self. Your smile is just like hers, god bless you. there are still good men out there.
Posted by Richard Macias | 19.01.10, 00:32 GMT
Dear Miss Piper
I am so sorry about what Danny did to you. I think he's an evil son of a gun and that he deserves to rot in prison.
My name is Kelsey and I am 11 years old. I first read about what happened to you in a Woman's Weekly magazine earlier this year.
Again, I am so sorry, and I just wanted to say that you were beautiful before the incident, and you're beautiful now. Nothing can ever take that away from you.
You are my hero.
Kelsey xxx
Posted by Kelsey Wright | 18.01.10, 05:14 GMT
It is an attack like this that has made me lose faith in humanity.
It is her inner strength and courage that give me any hope for mankind. We need more people as strong as Katie Piper.
She is deeply beautiful and wonderful on the inside as well as out. Beauty is deeper than "skin deep."
Posted by Kevin | 12.01.10, 17:26 GMT
Katie,I saw your story on 20/20 this past Friday night and I was so moved by your courage.You are a very beautiful person.May this New Year bring you so much joy and happiness.
Posted by TexasDiver | 10.01.10, 18:16 GMT
katie i watched ur 20/20 episosode and felt so sorry for you if any guy did that to me and if i seen them the next day it be WAR!! u are a very beautiful lady .
Posted by nicole | 10.01.10, 05:09 GMT
That Iris Robinson is a terrible human being goes without saying. But that does'nt mean she can't speak her feelings on Homosexuality! I do not have to use my religious beliefs to know that it is disgusting. if it is something that these poor people have to do at least keep it to yourselves, don't fluant it like a bunch of girls!
Posted by William Tell | 10.01.10, 02:11 GMT
dear, katie
i saw 20/20 last night and saw you i truling think you are a beautiful magnificient person i am soooooooo sorry that that happened to you those guys are monsters and i hope they get executed or something i am twelve and i always care about my face and how i looked but you changed that about me you have inspired me . looks arent everthing. i send you lots of love and hope you the best in life:)
Posted by briana magana | 09.01.10, 21:39 GMT
Katie i saw you on 20 20. and it moved me so much. i care so much about my looks, always putting down myself because of flaws. But when you said beauty is within and i saw you smiling and your so positive. i looked at you and saw that you are beautiful. i want to be like you beautiful inside and out.
Posted by Vintage | 09.01.10, 21:17 GMT
I hope you recover well and never let your beeautiful self get in the way of a ugly man anymore and katie always remember you are a very pretty girl
Posted by aliah-age 7years old | 09.01.10, 16:39 GMT
i saw the story on katy and towards the end when she was healing and had gone shopping, i looked at her and still saw a beautiful girl. sure i could see scars but the beauty was blessed with naturally from God was still showing throw, i mean the real natural beauty. take a picture of yourself before and compare it to you all dolled up now. you still look like that same beauty girl. it seems to me the inside beauty has had the best change. i have scars from an attack, although not that severe. for me the hardest part was just getting me back. not being afraid to go in a crowd, to be alone with someone i don't know. Post traumatic syndrome. be brave, move forward.
Posted by paula | 09.01.10, 05:18 GMT
Katie, you were born a true beauty. Obviously your attackers did not succeed because you are still as beautiful as you ever were.
Posted by Susanne | 09.01.10, 04:52 GMT
I watched the documentary tonight as well. What a brave person you are Katie! Takes a lot of guts to go through what you have and try to move on from it. Your still a very beautiful girl, and Im not just saying that. Your are truely beautiful! I wish you all the best!
Posted by Justin H | 09.01.10, 04:49 GMT
Beautiful woman. Thank you! My friend Allison Massari created a camp for burn survivors in The US. Please mention her name to Katy. I know Allison would support Katy in her vision to create a healing space for acid-burn survivors. Thank you,
Natasha Robbins
Posted by Natasha Robbins | 09.01.10, 04:15 GMT
Katie; This must be an awful time in your life and I am so sorry that some people can be so cruel to one another. Please remember that you are still you. I personally think that what's in a persons heart is the best way to find a friend ever. You have the rest of your life to find new things and many new experiances to do. I will pray to God that you can find the strength and courage in your time of need. I can only wish that it was me instead of you that this happened to because I have lived a good life and yours is just starting. Please do not ever be hard on yourself, Ok. Bles you. Randy R
Posted by randy r | 08.01.10, 05:12 GMT
Dear Katie,
were it not for the fact that I'm twice your age I would ask you out .. you're the bravest woman I know.
Yours,
A DICKENSON
a practising Christian.
Posted by Ashley DICKENSON | 02.01.10, 13:59 GMT
You are a true inspiration to me. Your bravery and personality has made me happy to be who i am today.
You may not think it now but u are beautiful katie.
Posted by mccarthy | 28.12.09, 04:20 GMT
154 Comments