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UK burn victim who battled depression for decades due to her looks now proudly shows her scars
Sylvia Mac suffered from depression due to her scars but has since recovered and even walked London Fashion Week last year. ― Picture via Facebook/ Sylvia Mac
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KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 ― A woman who battled depression following an incident that left her with burn scars managed to turn her life around and ended up walking for the London Fashion Week.
Sylvia Mac's life changing moments came five years ago when she noticed a man was trying to take pictures of her scars.
“I felt awful and I was ranting to my mum about it. I walked down to the water and I saw my mum's head hanging low and I could tell that it wasn’t just affecting me but had affected her as well and I decided enough is enough, I am going to live my life and I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” she reportedly told MyLondon.
Recalling the painful incident that left her with the scars, Mac said her mother had put a bowl of boiling water on the floor in the bathroom because they kept having power cuts.
Mac, who was two years old then, was playing hide and seek with her sister and she hid behind the bathroom door not realising the water was there.
When the door was pushed open, Mac fell backwards into the water leaving her with third and fourth-degree burns.
“I can’t remember the accident itself but I do remember constant hospital visits and being wrapped in bandages from the neck down to my feet.
“I almost ended up losing my life and I have a really supportive family.”
Things, however, went downhill when she reached her teenage years as she started having severe depression and suicidal thoughts after being bullied by other children for her scars.
After her encounter with the man who tried to take her pictures, Mac went on to set up Love Disfigure, a network to help raise awareness and show support for those living with a disfigurement.
She also walked in London Fashion Week last year besides winning three awards including one from former prime minister Theresa May and Woman of the Year.
Mac's latest campaign is #ShowMySkin where it appeals to Instagram not to censor photos of scarring and instead allow them to be celebrated to promote more diversity in the media.
“Don’t ever worry about what other people think of you. Having a scar shouldn’t change the person that you are. It’s really what comes from within. It’s what is in your heart and mind that is important,” she said.