Abbie Quinnen has shared an update on her burn injuries, six months after her horror accident.
The 23-year-old suffered third-degree burns after a blazing wine bottle exploded in her face back in January, as she attempted to film a ‘life hack’ video with her boyfriend AJ Pritchard.
The dancer appeared on Lorraine on Wednesday morning, where she bravely showed her burns to viewers at home and explained how she was treating them.
She said: “I basically just have to use circular motions and keep all of my scars hydrated. And after I do that I use my silicone sheets. Then I put my compression vest on, which I wear for 23 hours a day.”
AJ admitted: “There are very bad days and there are very, very bad lows. And it makes me feel very upset.”
Abbie continued: “Some days I just sit in silence and I cry all day and I look back at myself in the mirror and I’m not happy with what I’m wearing and I do just end up crying and I get back into bed because I feel like I wasn’t ready for the world to see me.”
“I feel like I’m less fun now because I’m always just aware of everything around me,” she admitted.
“I definitely am really anxious and there are times where I do think ‘Oh my god, my heart is beating so fast’ so it is a whirlwind of emotions that’s for sure.”
Abbie also met Katie Piper during her appearance on the show, who was the victim of an acid attack in 2008.
Catch me on @lorraine this morning at 9am as I meet 3 incredible women @AbbieQuinnen @LoveDisfigure and Rochelle 💛 I took Abbie long to meet these incredible ladies and hear their stories and to hopefully be inspired to see that there is life after burns. pic.twitter.com/Lll1EkVDd7
— Katie Piper (@KatiePiper_) June 16, 2021
Abbie has undergone three skin grafts since her horror accident.
Back in April, the 23-year-old shared photos of her injuries with The Sun, as she opened up about the terrifying incident.
She said at the time: “AJ and I just wanted to do the lifehack video for fans to watch at home. It was a popular video online so we were doing a test-run in the kitchen that I was going to film.”
“My hair caught fire and within seconds the flames had spread to my top and my body was alight. It was such a shock, I was panicking and screaming. I dropped down to the floor and I was rolling to try to put out the fire.”
“I saw my life flash before my eyes. I never thought something like that would happen to me. The first thing I said to AJ was, ‘Is my face going to be OK? Are you still going to love me?’ I kept repeating this to him and I was shaking in horror.”
The risky social media stunt involves dipping a rope in a flammable chemical, wrapping it around a wine bottle and setting light to it to cut it into a vase.
“As soon as AJ lit the flame to the rope, the fire was suddenly everywhere,” Abbie recalled. “I threw myself on the floor and AJ was running around with wet towels to cover me.”
“When it was out, I looked on the floor and it was covered in my burnt hair. We had to cut off the crop top I had on with a pair of scissors, my skin was blistering and it was digging into me.”
“AJ was comforting me – I couldn’t speak as I was in so much shock. I was shaking, and I just kept asking if he would still love me. I was wearing a dressing gown and leggings. My face was burning hot, it felt very painful. I was lucky it missed my eye.”
“I had massive blisters filled with water on my chest, neck and face and they had to pop them and clean the areas. It was extremely painful. The doctor made me feel at ease.”
“My face swelled up. I couldn’t see out of my right eye. Luckily, there were no mirrors in the bathrooms but I kept glimpsing my reflection in my phone screen, it was horrific.”
“I could tell I looked like a completely different person. From the moment it happened, I was worried I would never look the same again. I looked so horrible and awful I was terrified about seeing anyone,” she admitted.
“AJ did try to come to the hospital to give me a bag of clothes but I was adamant I didn’t want him to see me like this. I was embarrassed about the way I looked.”
“I felt safe in the hospital where they could help me if I was in pain. I was on so many medications I don’t remember a lot of it.”
Abbie also warned her fans about the dangers of social media stunts, saying: “I want to raise awareness about how dangerous this video is. I think that helping others will help heal myself.”
