A volunteer has been forced to have her ear amputated after a stranger riding past on a scooter threw acid in her face.
Katie Gee, from London, was supposed to be on the trip of a lifetime while volunteering at a school in Zanzibar, East Africa.
But the experience ended in disaster.
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The 29-year-old was on her way to have dinner when an unknown person pulled up beside her, threw the corrosive liquid and then sped off.
In agony, Katie went into “fight mode” and ran to the nearest bathroom to shower her face with water while screaming for help.
She was rushed to a local hospital and the following day was put on a flight to London for further treatment at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
“I was just walking to dinner when two guys pulled up,” Katie, from North West London, told Need To Know.
“They stopped for a second before anything happened.
“I thought it might have been scalding coffee.
“I knew it wasn’t water because it had a pungent smell and I knew about Katie Piper.
“It was the most rational I’ve ever been.
“I knew there was a restaurant with a shower so I ran straight there.
“I was in fight mode.
“I knew it was acid because my face was green and my clothes were melting off.
“I was screaming for help and no one was helping at first but a couple came over and got me some bottled water.
“I can’t describe the pain. It was worse than anyone could ever imagine.”
Katie was given saline at the local hospital but they ran out and there was no running water.
She then went to a nearby hotel and stood under the pool shower.
Katie said: “The woman who came to help me was holding towels around me because I was basically naked after my clothes had melted off.
“Somehow, my parents arranged getting me on a medical flight home.
“All this time I had no pain relief.
“I was in agony, it was like when you put your hand in boiling water and weirdly, it feels cold for a second.”
Katie spent more than two months in the London hospital, undergoing 70 surgeries including skin grafts and having her right ear amputated.
She had 35% burns on her face, arm, stomach and leg.
She received grafts from donor skin and had to have a blood transfusion.
Doctors also built her a new ear using cartilage from her ribs.
Katie said: “I got a blood infection from the acid and I was having surgery every other day.
“Once I’d left hospital, I’d have to go back for more surgeries and stay for weeks.
“It got worse as time progressed.
“When I first saw myself, I was freaking out. I didn’t look like the same person.
“When I had surgeries, I had scars that were so red and angry and contracted.
“I was at my lowest.”
It took five years for Katie to fully recover.
She decided life is too short to care about what other people think and used the support of her friends and family to regain her confidence.
Katie said: “I worked hard at my job which gave me confidence because it gave me a new purpose.
“My friends and family built me up and I realised life is too short.
“I unfollow anyone who makes me feel bad about myself because social media is a tough place.”
Having since recovered but now left with scars, Katie says her appearance has made her “more fussy” with partners – as she won’t date anyone who judges people on their looks.
She found love one year ago with partner Michael, 29.
She said: “It was hard putting myself out there to meet someone.
“I don’t want to be with someone who judges people because of their looks.
“My partner is really supportive, understanding and kind.”
The men who attacked Katie haven’t been caught.
The incident took place in 2013 but she is now sharing her story to reassure victims of acid attacks that they can get their confidence back.
Katie added: “I feel more confident but every day I’m reminded.
“I have scars everywhere and sometimes I look in the mirror and see that person who was red and scarred.
“I’m happy to be alive and healthy.
“If anyone else is going through this, they should document their recovery so they can see how far they’ve come when they’re having a down day.
“Anyone who has any physical difference, be positive and everyone else be positive towards them.
“Social media is such a hard place, I want people to feel confident in their own skin.
“They should surround themselves with good and supportive people.”
