A WOMAN has told how her clothes melted into her skin after being attacked by acid.
And Joanna Grabczak, 25, said: “All I can remember is the pain and the absolute panic and chaos.”
The mother of one is now trying to raise funds for reconstructive surgery in a bid to help rebuild her confidence — as she struggles along the slow road to recovery.
Joanna was 20 when a woman walked into the takeaway she was working in and threw a cup containing sulphuric acid at her.
She was standing behind the counter of One Asian Kitchen Takeaway in Tallaght, Dublin, when Katarzyna Wsiubiak carried out the sickening unprovoked attack on December 13, 2020.
In 2023, Wsiubiak — who was 34 at the time and from Tallaght — was found not guilty by a jury by reason of insanity.
Speaking for the first time since the terrifying ordeal, Joanna said she still has nightmares about the night in question.
But she said counselling and the love and support from her partner, Daniel, and her family and friends has helped pull her through.
And Joanna, who has since moved from Dublin, hopes a hair graft and tattoos to cover the scarring will help her be more confident when she’s out in public.
Speaking about the sickening attack, she said: “I was actually not meant to be working that night, I was meant to be off.
“I was more than half way through my shift when a woman walked in just after 8pm and came through the counter and threw a cup at me.
“I didn’t know what was in the cup but then the pain hit me.
“I stopped in my tracks and I didn’t hear anything except my own screams.
“I pulled off my top and my co-worker grabbed me and brought me to the sink and started pouring water on me. I’m so grateful to him because if he hadn’t of done that my scars and injuries would no doubt have been a lot more severe.
“All I can remember is the pain and the absolute panic and chaos.
“The clothes I had on were starting to melt into my skin.
“The acid hit my face, my chest, the left side of my abdominal and left arm.
“My left eye shut instantly and I now have a scar on my cornea.”
NO CONNECTION TO ATTACKER
Speaking about her attacker, Katarzyna Wsiubiak, Joanna said: “She was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and is currently in a psychiatric hospital.
“I didn’t know her personally at the time of the attack, she would order food from the restaurant and I would say hello to her but that was it.”
Joanna, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Ireland since the age of five, said her life since the nightmare ordeal has been a very bumpy road but she is finally making progress.
“All I can remember is the pain and the absolute panic and chaos.”
Joanna Grabczak
She said: “I am still receiving laser scar therapy at St James’s Hospital for facial injuries and ongoing care at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital.
“The acid also damaged my left eye, leaving a scar on my cornea that affects my vision.
“I have also had two years of therapy for PTSD, anxiety and the horrific dreams which I continue to have to manage daily.”
She continued: “This attack didn’t just scar my body, it stole time, confidence and peace from me. But I’m still here, and I’m still fighting.
‘WANT TO FEEL LIKE MYSELF AGAIN’
“I want to feel like myself again — I want to go outside without feeling ashamed or broken.
“I had to have skin grafts on my head so I have no hair whatsoever growing there.
“I need to have a hair transplant and it costs a lot of money — up to €10,000 — which I don’t have. I never received any compensation for what happened to me.
“Surgeons will have to take healthy hair from the other side of my head to try to cover the grafted area.
“I’m hoping it will help me take one more step towards healing, physically and emotionally.”
“The clothes I had on were starting to melt into my skin.”
Joanna Grabczak
Joanna, who spent a month in hospital following the vile attack — due to her horrific injuries — said she set up a GoFundMe page to try and fundraise around €13,500 for further treatment.
GOFUNDME PLEA
She continued: “I’m trying to raise funds to help me take back control over how I look and — more importantly — how I feel about myself. I’m working towards two major goals.
“I also want to get tattoos, which will not be cosmetic but rather therapeutic. This isn’t about vanity, it is about giving me back the confidence to look in the mirror and not be reminded of my trauma every day.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Joanna raise the much needed funds.
