Weather: Hi 11°C / Lo 4°C
Model Katie Piper's struggle after rape and acid attack
Monday, 19 October 2009
More pictures
Print
Email
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.
>Click image for more photos
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.
Post a comment
Limit: 500 characters
View all comments that have been posted about this article
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP address logged and may be used to prevent further submissions. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by BelfastTelegraph.co.uk's Terms of Use.
Posts submitted in UPPERCASE letters will be rejected.
91%
9%
Comments
128 Comments
hi Katie, I watched your documentary last night and felt so moved.
Those monsters derserved to be in jail forever.
You are a very beautiful person inside out . You're an aspiring person.
God bless you and I know you will find true love. God bless you forever.
meggy
Posted by Meggy | 19.11.09, 21:24 GMT
Katie,
You are a trully amazing woman. So inspirational. I hope, no correct that. I know, that the lives of those who done that to you will be hell. Even the criminals locked up with them will want to get there hands on them. Carry on doing what your doing, and you will be fine. Your the strongest person i know of!!!
All the best for the future Katie, you deserve it!
P.S. I would still defo ask you for your number!
Peter from Liverpool
Posted by Peter | 19.11.09, 17:42 GMT
no matter what u are stil beautiful x
Posted by leanne | 18.11.09, 13:20 GMT
Can we arrange to have her attackers tortured "close" to death in prison
Sounds fair to me
Heath
Posted by Heath | 15.11.09, 09:12 GMT
hi katie, i just think you are a wonderful person and i wish you all the best, your still the same person and if that asshole thinks he damaged you well you just proved him wrong. keep your head up xxx love angie
Posted by angie | 12.11.09, 22:32 GMT
Katie
You have received so many posts and yet I feel compelled to add to them. Like everyone else I am inspired by you. Your courage, determination, honesty and humour are inspirational. You have shown true strength of character and are so much more than your looks. As horrific as this attack has been, it seems to have been the making of you. You have unlocked your true potential and will go on to fulfill all your dreams. You are truly beautiful, inside and out - don't let anyone make you feel differently.
Posted by Kirsty | 11.11.09, 18:30 GMT
Dear Katie,
I watched your documentary last night on catch up & felt so moved, I wanted to post a message. I can't imagine how incredibly hard it has been for you. I cried so much & really felt your pain. You have a fantastic sense of humour though & made me laugh too. You are an inspiration & your zest for life is so enlightening. I genuinly also see how beautiful you are still. That may be hard for you to see but it's the absolute truth. I have no doubt that through sheer determination & will you will achieve whatever you wish to. I wish you well, stay strong & remember how truly amazing you are. Thankyou for being so brave & sharing your experience x
Posted by Sharon | 11.11.09, 16:06 GMT
Wow Katie, as a person who had her life/career snatched away (by illness in my case), I cheer for you! My cousin had similar burns, but on her hand - you've done much more and faster than her - exhausting for you. You've given me hope for myself and others I know. I used to work with abuse victims generally and HATE the way they are often made to carry the burden of shame that rightfully belongs to their attackers -well done you!
Posted by Rowena | 10.11.09, 16:56 GMT
it does not matter what you look like on the outside its the inside that counts.
Posted by siobhan | 09.11.09, 23:15 GMT
I watched documentary last night and was in tears most of the time. You are amazing, I admire you so much Katie. You still are beautiful inside and out and don' t listen to anybody who will says something else. I wish to have your strenght and currage to be so brave to go trough all of this and more. You are a real star and I wish you and your family all the best for the future.
Please don't ever stop smiling as you are lighting everybodys day.
By the way I am very happy to hear that these monsters are in jail. Hope they will stay there forever!
Posted by roxy | 09.11.09, 18:43 GMT
Katie, you truly are an amazing person, you have given me so much hope and inspiration.
You are still so beautiful as everyone else has said! When watching your programme i realised you are so similar to me in every way, we even have the same name! But you are unique in the way you have coped and how strong you are.
I wish you all the best.
Katie's never give up! stay strong xxx
Posted by Katie | 09.11.09, 17:25 GMT
amazing, your documentary was so touching, you are an inspiration. Beautiful girl inside and out, God bless
Posted by Naomi | 09.11.09, 14:00 GMT
hi katie i watched the documentary last night and i said to my husband she is still beautiful and you are so brave i am so glad justice was finally served and i hope they rot in hell for what they did to you and your family,i have had quite a rubbish year my dad died unexpectedly and my sister was attacked and my mum while grieving for my father went through a liver transplant she is doing really well but you put things into perspective when things happen to you watching you and your family coping through everything you have to go through in your daily life saddens me and makes me think even my lifes not that bad and time will heal us,you and your wonderful family have a daily reminder of your attack and for this i wish you all the luck in the world you are a beautiful person inside and out never forget this katie hope you find true happiness one day you have your whole life ahead of you all my love linda x
Posted by linda | 09.11.09, 13:59 GMT
Dear Katie, Thank you so much. The grace of the Holy Spirit is upon you. Please let our comments sink in because you are still beautiful. With God's grace your heart, mind and scars will be healed. I will pray that our lord Jesus Christ comforts you always. Denise
Posted by Denise | 09.11.09, 13:49 GMT
Dear Katie, You have all these messages saying that you are still beautiful. I want to reiterate this and tell you that I hope you believe them because they are true. The beautiful bone structure of your face remains the same as it was before the attack, and your skin grafts are like putting the icing on the cake. That’s why I hope you don’t continue to feel that you are left with the face that those evil men gave you. The progress you have made and the way your face looks now is amazing and they would not have expected you to look so beautiful again. While you continue to recover, I wish you the very best and I hope every step becomes easier. I hope you can rebuild your life and that it’s filled with fun and laughter again. xxxx
Posted by Louise | 09.11.09, 13:00 GMT
Katie if you read this please listen to my words. I watched your documentary on tv lastnight and it made me cry, your so brave! And your beautiful Katie dont ever let anyone lese tell you any different you are gorgeous! I hope you dont let ppl get you down and stay strong!
Posted by Joanne | 09.11.09, 11:13 GMT
ive had a nightmare day, i had to give a best friend some awful news. I stayed up late flicking though when i came across the ch4 repeat and watched the program, in tears.
Indeed as others have said, you are still a very beautiful woman. very attractive on the out side, and what a lovely and positive soul you are, what a caring family you have been blessed with. I am sure you will find a kind man, and have a wonderful family with.
You have such strength, it gives me strength with my own insignificant problems.
There are good people out there. You will find love, keep doing what you do, being you, being strong an amazing, inspiring others by seeing you overcome such hardship and pain.
Godbless you Katie.
Posted by Aaron | 09.11.09, 04:37 GMT
katie, ive only just got round to watching your documentary and just wanted to say i think your Beautiful.
both inside and outside
Posted by Deborah | 09.11.09, 03:39 GMT
brave women youre still gorgeous
Posted by brian | 09.11.09, 00:50 GMT
My Dear... May God give you the strength to carry on. may he bless you with a man who can love your beauty both inside and out, because you are still beautiful and in time the scars will get better. You are an amazing person and an inspiration to all. May God bless you. Love you. Be strong. God will punish them. Amen
Posted by Babs Holloway | 09.11.09, 00:33 GMT
128 Comments