WHY WE’LL CELEBRATE
Five remarkable women look forward to 2019
‘WE’VE FINALLY FOUND THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL’ Nicky Gee details how a brutal acid attack on her then-teenage daughter Katie turned both their lives upside down.
I’ve always been that overbearing mother who constantly worries about their children. I’d always check up on my kids, Katie, Sammy and Jamie, and insist they stay in touch. In 2013, when Katie was 18 and had just finished her A levels, she and her friend Kirstie decided to go travelling to Zanzibar and volunteer with underprivileged children. Although I was worried about something going wrong, I was so excited for her. I set aside any concerns as I wanted her to have an amazing experience before she started studying sociology at university.
On the final day of her trip, Kirstie’s mum called me with shocking news. ‘The girls have been attacked with acid,’ she said. I felt
sick as I tried to find out more. The pair had been walking to dinner when two men on mopeds hurled acid at them in an unprovoked attack. Kirstie was badly burned but Katie bore the brunt of the acid and suffered burns to 35% of her body.
My first thought was to get my daughter home safely. She and Kirstie were flown back to England in a medical plane, 12 hours after the attack. When I met her on the runway, the extent of her injuries sunk in. She wore only a hospital gown and a thin white sheet and her face and body were swollen and raw from severe burns. It was horrific. I cried the whole way to Chelsea and Westminster hospital. I remember her saying, ‘You have to stop crying, Mum.’ She was so brave and I knew I had to be strong for her.
At the hospital, her surgeon, Andy Williams, said she would be an inpatient for at least six weeks, and that her recovery would be a marathon, not a sprint. It was going to be a long and difficult road. I felt helpless. Katie had her first operation the next day, which would be the start of five years’ worth of long, complicated procedures, including having her ear reconstructed from rib cartilage. She had up to five hospital appointments a week – all we could focus on was getting through each operation.
We have always been close, but spending every day together created an intense bond. Katie started her degree in 2014, but her medical appointments meant she had to study from home. She struggled with going out in public as people would stare and ask questions, but we would go for long dog walks with our Cavachon puppy, Caesar. I know he was such a great comfort for Katie when she was struggling with anxiety and loneliness.
At times, it felt like the cycle of procedures and pain would never end, but gradually Katie began to heal, physically and emotionally. Eventually, last year, Katie started to go out and have fun with her friends. She was able to spend her final year at Nottingham University and, in June 2018, she graduated with a 2:1. She landed an amazing graduate job in commercial property, which she started in September. I am immensely proud of everything she has achieved, and the incredibly strong person she has become.
After prioritising Katie’s health for so long, I recently qualified as a primary school teacher. I’m so thankful that my daughter is no longer in pain and torment and we can look to the future. Finally, it feels like we have found the light at the end of the tunnel.