Katie Piper reveals she’s in hospital having a skin graft on her blind eye after having more than 200 operations since her 2008 acid attack
Katie Piper took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal she is in hospital having a skin graft on her blind eye which was injured during a horrific acid attack in 2008.
The TV star, 36, suffered life-altering burns after being doused in sulphuric acid by Stefan Sylvestre, who was recruited by her jealous ex-boyfriend David Lynch.
Her embittered ex-lover orchestrated the attack which took place on a street just outside their north London home and left her with horrific injuries.
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Harrowing: Katie Piper revealed on Instagram that she was in hospital for a skin graft on her blind eye sustained from an acid attack set up by her ex-boyfriend David Lynch in 2008
Katie has already undergone over 200 medical procedures including pioneering skin surgery since the horrendous ordeal.
The life transforming event encouraged the TV star to become an advocate and launch her own charity for other burns victims as well as promoting inner-confidence on social media.
On Instagram, she revealed to followers that she was waiting for anaesthetic for her skin graft and she shared a positive affirmation from her book that she believes will help others.
Inspiring: Despite having to undergo another procedure on her injuries, the TV presenter, 36, remained positive and encouraged others to seek self-love during testing times.
She said: ‘I’m in hospital because I have to have an operation on my bad eye so I’m just waiting to down to the anaesthetic room.
Reading an affirmation out, she said: ‘”To wish you were someone else is to waste the person that you are” and I love that one because I always think that when I mentor people or I meet people and they talk to me about their lives.
‘To kind of wish you looked like someone else, or had someone else’s job or just somebody else’s existence is a waste of a whole, complete person.
‘It is the waste of a soul, it is a waste of the opportunities you might be able to create as an individual. There is a saying that ‘only I can be me and that is my power.”
A journey: The before and after images show the extensive burns that Katie Piper endured at the hands of her attacker before embarking on the 12-year road to recovery
Katie has found happiness with her carpenter husband, Richard James Sutton who she married in 2015. The couple share two young daughters, Belle Elizabeth Piper, six, Penelope Diane, two.
Despite her great success in her career and personal life, the TV star struggled to navigate her recovery and rediscover her identity for some time.
In 2018, she opened up to the National Geographic about her harrowing experience and the effect it had on her mental health.
She said: ‘It’s been a decade since I survived a sulphuric acid attack that left me with severe burns across my face, in the following years, I’ve worked to redefine my sense of identity.
‘With injuries such as mine, your face can be so damaged that your expressions may not convey how you feel, and you may even lose your ability to smile.
‘It can be an isolating experience, you feel one way on the inside but look completely different on the outside, after more than 200 surgeries since my attack, I’ve accepted that my old face is gone.’
Her ex-boyfriend was given two life sentences for the attack whilst his accomplice Stefan was released in 2018 after serving just six years of a life sentence.
He was recalled to prison in 2019 following a string of car thefts but was cleared for release from jail last month.
Charitable cause: The TV presenter is the founder of the Katie Piper Foundation which is a survivor support organisation that helps other individuals with burns or scars