best for CELEBRITY
was a struggle to get here! It’s
the first centre of its kind in
Britain, and I’ve been working
for years with my charity,
The Katie Piper Foundation,
to make it a reality for those
with burns and scars in
the UK. Being partnered
with the Fairfield, who we
share the site with, means
we have access to their
amazing physiotherapy
team, surgeons and tranquil
grounds – it’s the perfect
partnership. There were
days when I thought
I’d rather go and make
documentaries about
dodgy tattoos – it would
be a lot easier! [Katie
presented Channel 4’s
Bodyshockers.] But
then I remember, this
is what I’m passionate
about. It makes all the
hard slog worth it.Which patients
have particularly
touched you?
Friends Amber and
Amy, who suffered
burns after a terrible
accident on holiday,
remind me of
myself. Another
girl here, Katrin,
survived 96 per
cent burns... very
rare. She’s now
at university,
studying to be a
physio! The word
‘inspirational’
is overused, but
the people I’ve
met here do
inspire me.What is burn
rehabilitation?
It’s about
contraction.
My mouth
contracted
really badly
[after the
acid attack
that injuredher]. It got pulled down and
was actually closing. My
physio used manual labour,
with hands, machines and
injections, softening the scars
to become more skin-like and
avoid further disfigurement.
It’s simple, but complex. At the
start, I couldn’t take a bite out
of an apple. Now, I can devour
a whole Granny Smith!Did you wish you’d had
somewhere like this to
come to after your injury?
I did, but it was abroad –
that’s what inspired me to
bring something similar back
here. It would have been so
much easier for me to have
treatment in England, to keep
in touch with friends I made.Patients’ affirmations
are written on the wall
of the physio room –
including your own...
Yes, we ask patients that
are in a good place to leave
their legacy with quotes,
because there is no more
powerful voice than a patient’s
voice. The first affirmation
I ever wrote was, ‘This willbe OK’, reassuring myself
that everything that was so
traumatic and suffocating in
the present would become
a memory to reflect on.Disfigurement is still a
taboo, though, isn’t it?
It is. We’ve come far – just
not far enough. We shouldn’t
just see disabled people in
shows like The Undateables,
and you shouldn’t just see
me on a show talking aboutburns victims. And it’s not just
about the burns survivors – it’s
also about those not affected
seeing people with burns or
disfigurements as normal.Do you think shows like
Love Island go against anyacceptance of difference?
Everyone thinks I’ll be this
huge critic of Love Island, but
actually, I’m a massive fan! I
watched it because my days at
work are so heavy and serious
that I want to go home and
enjoy some escapism.Will you bring your girls to
this centre some day?
Yes. Though I’ll never have to
explain my journey to them, it’s
talked about all the time. Bellehas already volunteered
at workshops I do! She’s
funny, though – when I
was on Strictly last year,
she was supporting Kate
Silverton and Aljaž and not
me! I was like, ‘What?!’ She
said, ‘Yeah, but I see you
at home every day, Mum.’
There’s an affirmation for
you – ‘Whatever you do,
remember your kids won’t
be impressed!’And will you watch
Strictly this year?
Oh, religiously! Who’s
going to get my Gorka?
[Katie’s dance partner,
Gorka Márquez.] We do stay
in touch –I sent him and
Gemma [Atkinson] congrats
when they had their baby.
I’ll be glued to that screen!● Katie was visiting staff
and patients following
the opening of the
Katie Piper Foundation
Rehabilitation Centre
at the Fairfield
Independent Hospital,
St Helens, Merseyside. WORDS:SHELLEYSPADONIPICTURES:GOFFPHOTOS.COM,^ SHUTTERSTOCK‘The word “inspirational”
is overused, but the
people I’ve met here
do inspire me’
Best friends Amb
A er,^26 ,^ and^my, (^29) , (^) from Essex
on h ,^ were^
oliday in Dubai in 2
when th^017
eir dune buggy (^) bu
into (^) flame rst^
s. The girls, who
suffered (^54) per ce
pe nt^ and^56
r cent burns respec
to the tively^
ir (^) lower bodies, we
airlifted re^
to hospital and
eventually (^) flown to
for^ England^
treatment (^) at (^) an (^)
NHS hospital.
Amber said, ‘I thin
I ha k^
d ICU [intensive ca
unit] p re^
sychosis. There
were times when t
a he^ pain^
nd (^) depression were
part^ so^ bad,^
of (^) me wished I wou
wake u ldn’t^
p. But at Katie’s
centre, (^) we were to
ag gether^
ain. We (^) could reflec
and h t^
eal. We (^) had exercis
classes e^
and everything from
AMBER A
ND
AMY’S (^) S
TORY
Amy, left, and
Amber with Katie
yoga to horse-ridi
ng!’
Amy explained, ‘Th
acut e^
e NHS care we got
was (^) brilliant, but w
fe e^ still^
lt lost. This place ga
us ho ve^
pe.’
Both (^) girls are back
work, at^
telling best they ha
finally st ve^
opped covering
up (^) their (^) scars in (^) the
sum^ heat^ of^
mer. ‘We wear wha
want n t^ we^
ow,’ added Amy.
From barely (^) wanti
get ng^ to^
out of bed? You can
put (^) a p ’t^
rice on that.