An acid attack survivor has revealed how tourists took photos of her as she tried to wash acid off her face and screamed for help.
Katie Gee, 29, from London, was just 18 and volunteering at a school in Zanzibar in 2013 when she and her friend Kirstie Trup were doused with acid in a random, unprovoked attack carried out by two men on a motorbike.
Katie suffered burns to the right side of her face and body, while her right ear was left shriveled. In the first five years after the attack, Katie underwent 70 operations (many of them 12-hour skin grafts) and in 2018 she had a new right ear implanted.
Katie, now 29, has been busy… TikTok to talk about the attack and the ordeal that followed in bringing her back to the UK.
In a video shared on the platform, Katie said: ‘I was going out for dinner when two men drove by and threw acid on my right side and drove off immediately.’
Katie Gee (pictured), from London, opened up about her harrowing acid attack story on TikTok
“This left me with 35 percent burns and I was in and out of the hospital for years and years.”
Recalling the moments after the attack, Katie said: ‘So, I ran straight to the bathroom, screamed at the top of my lungs for help, and then a couple, Nadine and Sam, came to help me and brought loads of bottled water.
‘There were a lot of locals and tourists watching me outside the bathroom and some of them were taking photos and stuff, so Nadine was protecting me.
‘After (…)washing myself (for a while) in the shower, we go to the first hospital.
‘This hospital in Stone Town was honestly a complete mess, and there were almost no staff working there.
‘There I am spraying myself with saline solution, which is disinfectant salt water, then we run out of saline solution and there is no running water.
‘The next port of call is to get running water immediately and the next best hospital is in Dara Salam, which is on mainland Tanzania, and the only way to get there is by plane.
‘We headed straight to a nearby hotel and I ended up using the shower by the pool. For several hours I was under those freezing cold showers.’
Katie, who was the victim of a random acid attack while working in Zanzibar in 2013, is pictured five years after the attack in 2018, having undergone 70 operations.
Katie (pictured before the attack) was heading to dinner at a restaurant with her friend Kirstie Trup when the attack happened.
Pictured: Katie in hospital after acid attack by two random men in Stone Town, Tanzania
Now, Katie is sharing her story on social media to raise awareness about her experience.
She continued: ‘Obviously I had no clothes on because they had all been burnt, I was shaking uncontrollably and everyone was saying, ‘she needs to come in’, and then, with a lot of coordination, we were on our way to the main hospital in Dara Salam.
‘We got an ambulance, headed straight to the runway and got on the plane. When we landed in Dara Salam, I projectile vomited on the runway.
‘I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but honestly it was a spectacle.’
Speaking about her experience at the second hospital, Katie said: ‘It was a lot calmer, (and) I took lots of painkillers and then through insurance we were told we could get on a medical plane back to the UK.
‘I got straight into an ambulance. There were two doctors on the medical plane with me, and as soon as we got on, I said to them, ‘Please give me some medicine and knock me out. I don’t want to be awake for this whole trip.’
Katie underwent 70 operations after the incident and was in and out of hospital for years.
After the horrific attack, the 29-year-old woman said her right ear was left “burned to a crisp.”
Katie suffered severe burns and had to undergo 70 operations over three years to recover from the attack.
‘With an ambulance, my mother and whoever was on the track, we went straight to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where I was admitted.’
For the first three years after the attack, Katie had to wear a plastic mask and a full-body compression suit for 23 hours a day.
In 2018, she received a new right ear, sculpted from tissue from one of her ribs.
Her attackers, who used acid from a car battery, have never been identified.
“For the first few years I barely went out,” Katie told the Mail on Sunday. “I had no self-confidence. People would stare at me and it made me feel ugly and different, like a spectacle. I’ve come a long way.”
Viewers took to the comments section of Katie’s video to offer their condolences following her traumatic experience.
Katie, who describes herself as a “survivor and achiever”, graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2017.
But the year after the attack was the hardest for her. She said: “The scars shrink. That’s when the scars get really red and bumpy. I had to wear the mask for most of the day.
Katie finally had her ear reconstructed in 2015, using cartilage from her ribs and skin from her scalp.
She said: “I had several surgeries. I had a new eyelid made. I didn’t have an ear for over three years. (The reconstruction) made me feel normal. I looked more like myself.”
She spent the first few years after the attack “uncomfortable” with her new appearance, but has now found “confidence” with her scars.
Katie, who has a background in property, said: ‘I remember going out for lunch and meeting a friend’s sister and she didn’t recognise me.
Now, Katie, who has a background in real estate, has found “confidence” with her scars.
It took a while for Katie to feel like dating again, but she is now in a relationship with Michael, 29 (pictured).
Pictured: Katie and her boyfriend Michael
Katie’s “really sweet” boyfriend Michael has inspired confidence in her.
‘Now, if anyone wants to look at me, I’ll just stare back and make them feel very uncomfortable.
She added: “I’m not ashamed anymore. I’m in a good place. I’m showing that I’m confident about my scars.”
The culprit, who “smiled” before spraying Katie, was never caught for the attack in the main city, Stone Town.
Katie said: “It’s something I still think about every day. Every time I look in the mirror I can see it. It’s something that still affects me all the time.”
The 29-year-old has now started sharing her story on TikTok to help others feel confident in their bodies and share her tips, such as the best makeup for scarred skin.
She said: ‘I want to be a person who is body positive and confident about her scars.’
It took Katie a while to find the confidence to date again, but she’s now in a relationship with Michael, 29.
She said: “It took me a while to realise that people still liked him. “He’s very nice and very sweet. “He compliments me all the time, even if I look horrible.”
Viewers took to the comments section of Katie’s video. One said: “God bless Nadine and Sam. I’m so sorry this was something you experienced. The world can be so cruel.”
“God bless Nadine and Sam. I truly am so sorry this happened to you. It’s unimaginable,” wrote another person.
Another added: “Poor thing, what vile creatures there are in this world. You were beautiful then and now.”
A fourth said: “I’m so sorry this happened to you. How evil. You are so beautiful and so strong.”