MUINGEREZA ALIYE MWAGIWA TINDIKALI ZANZIBAR AFANYIWA OPARESHENI 15 ILI APATE KUPONA.
- Katie Gee and her friend Kirstie Trup had acid thrown at them in Zanzibar
- Teenagers, now 19, were volunteering at an orphanage on the island
- They were targetted by two men riding on a moped and soaked in acid
- Katie was closer to the attacker, so took the brunt of the acid
Survivor: Teenager Kate Gee pictured in the last selfie she took before she and her best friend were the victims to a devastating acid attack in Zanzibar
One of the teenage victims of the Zanzibar acid attack has spoken of her determination not to let the ordeal ruin her life.
Katie Gee suffered 30 per cent burns and could have been blinded after being drenched in the unprovoked attack by two men.
Her friend Kirstie Trup was also injured when the 18-year-olds were targeted while on a three-week trip working as volunteer teachers on the mainly Muslim island.
‘The pain was…so severe and the thought of being scarred so horrific that I even asked [someone] to shoot me,’ Miss Gee said.
‘Thankfully, my stubborn streak ensures that I will not give in, if only to prevent the cowards who attempted to destroy my life from winning.
'And they will not.’
Describing the attack, Miss Gee, of Hampstead, North London, said: ‘The acid had already stripped away several layers of skin from my thighs and stomach, leaving them looking swollen, indented and white.
‘It was a horrific transformation that seemed to unfold in slow motion in front of my eyes.
'It is only recently that I have come to terms with looking in the mirror and not feeling totally miserable and asking, “Why me? Why did life have to be so unfair?”
‘I draw strength from the love of my family, friends and my dog, Caesar, who my family bought in January.’
Miss Gee told how she took a selfie before heading out for dinner with Miss Trup in Zanzibar City.
The image on her mobile phone was to be the last ‘as I used to be’.
Shortly afterwards, they were assaulted by one of two men riding a moped.
Strength: Katie Gee and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel/Bichon Frise cross Caesar pictured by her mother Nicola on Hampstead Heath, London
Survivor: Katie Gee, 19, pictured in Tanzania after acid was thrown at her has already undergone 15 operations and faces a further 15 after she suffered burns to around 30 per cent of her body
She ‘watched as he smiled, lifted a
jerry can that had been held out of view and swung it towards us,
soaking Kirstie and me from head to toe’.
jerry can that had been held out of view and swung it towards us,
soaking Kirstie and me from head to toe’.
Doctors said that she would have been blinded if she had not instinctively blinked when the battery acid was thrown.
Injuries: The injuries sustained to one of the teenagers when they were attacked on August 7 last year
Bystanders
helped douse her with water to wash away the liquid before the women
were taken to hospital and then flown back to London for treatment.Miss
Gee has had skin grafts on her face, back, arms, stomach and legs,
which, she said, left her body ‘like a patchwork quilt’.
helped douse her with water to wash away the liquid before the women
were taken to hospital and then flown back to London for treatment.Miss
Gee has had skin grafts on her face, back, arms, stomach and legs,
which, she said, left her body ‘like a patchwork quilt’.
Her right ear was removed as it was so badly damaged. She has had 15 operations, with at least another 15 needed.
‘I used to be squeamish about operations but now I look forward to them as another step to normal life,’ said Miss Gee.
However,
she refused to let doctors shave her head to use her scalp for skin
grafts ‘as the only part of me that had been unharmed was my hair’.
she refused to let doctors shave her head to use her scalp for skin
grafts ‘as the only part of me that had been unharmed was my hair’.
The skin on her head would have been the closest to her face in texture and colour.
Miss Gee recalled a harrowing recurring dream in which she looks in the mirror to discover her features were healed.
‘I
would run my fingers across my face in wonderment, my mother standing
behind me, emotional about my full recovery,’ she told The Sunday Times.
would run my fingers across my face in wonderment, my mother standing
behind me, emotional about my full recovery,’ she told The Sunday Times.
‘Then
I would wake up to discover nothing had changed.’ As part of her
recovery, she takes 30 pills daily and wears a silicone brace, face mask
and Lycra-style pressure suit for 23 hours a day.
I would wake up to discover nothing had changed.’ As part of her
recovery, she takes 30 pills daily and wears a silicone brace, face mask
and Lycra-style pressure suit for 23 hours a day.
But
the future also has more positive aspects, including the chance of
going to Nottingham University, where she has a place to study
sociology.
the future also has more positive aspects, including the chance of
going to Nottingham University, where she has a place to study
sociology.
‘The nagging
thoughts that my life had come to an end have started to dissipate
because I know that with the help of my family and friends there is
nothing I cannot achieve,’ she said.
thoughts that my life had come to an end have started to dissipate
because I know that with the help of my family and friends there is
nothing I cannot achieve,’ she said.
Friend: Katie's best friend Kirstie Trup, who was also injured, pictured after the acid attack at the airport in Zanzibar
Treatment: Katie and Kirstie arrive at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, covered in sheets
Daily Mail
Posted by Editor
on 14:24.
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