Katie Piper - An Inspiration!

After everything she has been through over the last couple of years, I was inspired by this picture of Katie Piper at the BAFTA Television Awards last night.

Katie Piper, from Andover, Hampshire, was a model and budding TV presenter with a hectic social life and a glowing future in the public eye until March 2008, In March 2008, Katie was raped, beaten and held hostage by her jealous ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch, who then hired Stefan Sylvestre to disfigure her face by throwing sulfuric acid over her. The acid attack, which blinded Katie in one eye, caused horrific burns to her face and neck so bad that doctors claimed it was theworst case of acid burns they had seen. Both Sylvestre and Lynch were arrested and are serving jail time for their crimes.

Since then, Katie has undergone more than 40 operations including pioneering surgery at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where the surgeons removed all the skin from her face, before rebuilding it with a skin substitute and then a skin graft. The procedure was the first of its kind to be completed in a single operation. She then went on to have five intensive three-week blocks of treatment at the Centre Ster in Lamalou, France.

In 2009, Piper chose to give up her anonymity to try and increase awareness about burn victims. The Channel 4 documentary, "Katie: My Beautiful Face", was aired on 29 October 2009 as part of the Cutting Edge series, I was moved to tears as Katie talked of learning to cope with her disfigurement as well as her courageous battle to recover. Wearing a mask to protect much of her face, she vowed to get through the attack and help other victims come to terms with their injuries. She credited the daily routine of treatments, including deep tissue massage, physiotherapy, skin-softening endomology machines, hydrotherapy, silicone and pressure garments, as a key part of her recovery.

More than two years on with over 40 operations and countless treatments and therapies, Katie faces personal challenges daily but she is back in control, living her life.

Last month Katie accompanied 'Katie: My Beautiful Face' Director Jessie Versluys to the 2010BAFTA Craft Awards where she won the Breakthrough Talent prize and yesterday Katie attended the 2010 BAFTA Television Awards as the documentary was nominated again for Best Single Documentary.

I'm sure you will agree that Katie looks fantastic!
What an inspiration.