Just weeks away from receiving her Master’s degree in counseling, 42 year old Christy Sims was viciously assaulted by her boyfriend with industrial sulfuric acid. Christy spent two months in a coma, underwent multiple reconstructive surgeries and today she lives to tell her story of overcoming!

Christy now sits on the board of directors for the Christy Sims Foundation, created to serve domestic violence victims by ‘educating the community, increasing awareness and raising funds to support victims of domestic violence.” Come join us as we hear more about Christy’s story, how she’s overcome great trials and how God is using her story to shed light on domestic violence around the world.

hey there I’m Priscilla Shire thank you

so much for joining us today on the chat

it is a treat to be here with you I

don’t know if you’ve ever had this

happened to you like it happened to me

that I was watching a television program

or maybe you heard a radio interview or

you just saw somebody from afar whose

story was so moving that mattered so

much whose story was so gripping maybe

by what you the traces of it the scars

of it that you saw on them it really

impacted you in a way that stayed with

you long after that interview was over

or long after that conversation was over

it just kind of hung with you in your

heart and in your mind that happened to

me and it happened fairly recently and

right away I started putting as many

things in motion as I could to be able

to sit down with this guest myself

because I wanted to meet her her story

is one of absolute tragedy but one

really that has a lot of beauty that

rises out of these ashes you’re going to

want to stay tuned today because you’re

going to want to meet Christie Sims I’m

going to let you hear her story I’m

gonna let you see some photos and I’m

going to let you hear a 9-1-1 call that

really sets in motion a course of events

that is going to stick with you for a

long time stay tuned

I was sitting on my sofa at home

watching a woman being interviewed on a

talk show and I was riveted I was

riveted for many reasons but also

because when I looked at her I saw

strength

I saw courage I saw a woman who was sure

of herself and had a lot going for her

but I also saw a woman who in the course

of a day her entire life completely

changed because of domestic violence

listen to this is he bleeding from

anywhere what Itachi’s complain okay

okay just one second under get poison

control on the line – okay I’m going to

get poison control on the line hold on a

second I have been looking so forward to

meeting this woman I know all of you are

going to enjoy meeting her as well would

you please help me to welcome Christie

Simms

cristy I’ve been waiting to meet you and

I’ve been waiting to meet you and I’m so

glad to lay eyes on you you are

beautiful

thank you you’re a beautiful woman and

you have a story to tell I do you do

okay we just you know it’s very obvious

when someone looks at you today

you look different than you did two and

a half years ago I do so tell us just in

a nutshell at first just tell us what

happened that caused this physical

change in your life really that has

changed the trajectory of your entire

life because of it what happened I made

the decision I was in a relationship

with a guy for a few years and I decided

I did not want to marry him and I

started backing away from the

relationship and he sensed it and on

April 28 2013 he called me to the

bathroom in our house he had been there

with me that weekend and before I could

even get into the bathroom he was right

in front of me he doubts he doubts had a

bowl in his hand and he doused me with

them what I found out later was

industrial grates of uric acid it’s what

people use all over the world to

disfigure and dis fame on people’s faces

so was there anything that was happening

in your relationship leading up to this

that would have given you an inkling

that this was something he could do

there were signs there were warning

signs in retrospect to be honest with

you my back in a way had a lot to do

with the fact that my children didn’t

like the sky they just would never warm

up to him and I had made a decision you

know what I can’t marry got it my kids

that you know there’s nothing there and

he just became more and more possessive

and controlling to the point where was

making me miserable so what did that

look like what did controlling and

possessive look like in a specific way

going through my personal things

crossing boundaries he would go through

my phone you know find ways into my to

my locked phone and then drilled me

about what’s in my father my personal

phone this is the guy that wasn’t my

husband that didn’t live with me he

would find ways into my computer

you know started accusing me of things

that you know just not true you know

very jealous very possessive I worked in

an all-male environment and he had a

problem with that you know so just

things that I did not do to him and I

didn’t I feel comfortable with him doing

to me you know he made me feel very

unfree I felt like I had to check in all

the time

and if I was missing for free hours he

would have called me a million times

during that time you know these are all

signs of abuse and to be honest with you

this guy was pretty much that way

throughout the relationship but I became

more cognitive of it as I started to

study human behavior as I became more

aware of myself because you were

studying to be a counselor so you were

already in your master’s degree program

yeah I finished my master’s degree on

about 6 months before this happened ok

he did this about 12 days before I was

supposed to graduate a lot of people say

she was pursuing her master’s way I was

already working as a counselor I was

already helping people and I had already

earned my master’s degree but I’m the

first one woman in my family to get a

master’s degree so I want to go back and

walk you know at 42 years old I wanted

to wear the cap and gown that’s right so

and he knew that and he knew how

important that was to me and I think

that that milestone which was a great

thing in my life I think it felt like it

was a letter away from him to him you

know do you feel like he felt like it

was he needed to go out of his way to

kind of keep you in check to when

there’s things to celebrate in your life

where you’re going up that he needs to

be the one to sort of kind of keep you

down this is a guy that didn’t finish

high school you know he was you know he

owned businesses and things like that

but didn’t value education the way that

I valued education and always kind of

how do you put it reduce the fact that I

was an educated woman who went in

retrospect I think it was because you

know he felt inadequate in that area

yeah and secure in that area so ok so

let’s go back to that day I want to know

about what were you doing what was

happening what was your countenance like

beef

or this happen so in the in that just

what take us through that particular day

up until the time when this happened to

you I woke up about 10 o’clock that

morning and I just woke up with this

excitement you know I had this if you

can imagine I was 42 years old I had

just finished a really tough master’s

program I was working in a job that

absolutely loved my kids were happy I

had survived that whole divorce storm

and I was just happy I was looking good

I was thin and cute and you know I just

had this one problem this guy in my life

that was making me feel um uncomfortable

that’s the best way I can describe it

did he was their friend or family know

that this guy was now making you feel

uncomfortable I had conversations with

my friends but to be honest with you

it’s a it’s very complicated you know

the cycle of abuse is very interesting

because this guy was you know he would

be controlling but he’d also be this guy

that brought me flowers and so he was

slick yeah and told me love me a million

times a day but but he got more to be

honest with you he got sweeter as he

felt me pulling away and when I think

about it now it’s because he held on

tighter as I was moving away because he

could fill it he could sense it you know

that that stuff those games that he

played all along they were just not

working anymore you know so you’re

feeling good that day feeling great that

day just happy just like when I can when

I tell you literally bouncing off the

walls i bouncing off the walls I’m like

yeah you know I’m gonna be graduating

next week you know had accomplished so

many goals I wanted to make some make

some promises to my children I was gonna

travel with them you know there were ten

and thirteen at the time and I said soon

as mommy finishes grad school we’re

gonna travel we’re gonna do some things

gonna have some fun cuz you know for two

years I was working during the day going

to school at night and I missed a lot of

stuff I miss basketball games and a lot

of things and so I just promised my said

so I’m never gonna miss another

basketball game I’m never gonna and so

when this happened you know right before

this happened I was just excited about

being able to do those things that I had

put on hold for two years and it’s

almost as if I remember the look on his

face that morning and it was still no

indication that I was in danger he just

saw how happy I was and when I in which

is that when I think about mine

how happy I was it’s almost as if my

happiness caused him a problem right

like my luck he was blinded by my light

that day or something you know that’s

life over the edge is that like what

you’re too happy but you’re just too

happy you know and that’s the last thing

I remember I remember being extremely

happy at two o’clock I was blissfully

happy and at 2:30 I was in misery in

complete misery burning alive is that

what it feels like to have acid thrown

on you yeah it feels like I’ve never

been in a fire before but from what I

understand acid is worse than getting

the fire because it burns even once

you’re rinse it continues to burn

through the cells of your body I

continue to burn for days even in the

hospital my face continued to change its

composition and so acid you know this is

not just a case of domestic violence

this is an acid attack something that’s

a global issue and it is now described

as attack is now described as the most

inhumane act against mankind

that’s how horrible it is how were you

able to make a 911 he made an eye on one

call he made the night on one call I

begged him to call 9-1-1 and on the nine

one one tape they’re telling him six

times to rinse me off and he comes over

to me and stands over me and tells me

babe they said not to rinse you off now

mind you I didn’t know what it was I

don’t know that was severe caster I

don’t know what it was I just knew was

burning me and I said what are you

talking about I’m on fire here I need

water

this is nobody that you said just sit

here just his calm he’s calling me baby

the whole time this is calm no baby they

said just to sit here how long were you

there

how about 13 minutes burning before help

arrived

sulfuric acid is used to melt metal and

he’d do it in my eyes I was blind for

four months the first four months it’s a

miracle

by God’s grace and mercy then I’m

hearing that I can see you know so other

than the scars that we can see on how

much of your body 20%

arms full arms my entire chest down to

here my entire neck has been replaced my

entire face has been reconstructed these

are not my original cheeks this is not

my original chain this is not my

original neck my eyelids were sewn on

how many surgeries I’ve had 13 total

that first few days they took all of the

skin from my from the back in front of

my thighs to repair my chest in my arms

and if they did a few grafts on my face

and then when I left the hospital you

know you have to wait when you’re burned

like this you have to wait a whole year

for them to work on your face that has

to mature so I had to literally live

behind a veil for a whole year before

they could even do anything to my face

at all when you say live behind a veil

do you mean literally fabric over your

face my face was so disturbing

so unrecognizable that I couldn’t go out

in public my first few media interviews

I did failed or either either in shadow

and people to this I mean and now they

understand cuz now I’ve started to

release pictures of what I some of the

pics what I look like in the beginning

but I could not release pictures of what

I look like and I could not put that out

there in the world because my children

was still adjusting to the fact that

their mother had changed and I couldn’t

have those pictures on the Internet

so every interview that I did in the

very beginning I had to do with our

sunglasses and veiled as a social

responsibility that’s just how

disfigured I was until I was able to

have some facial surgeries how did you

see yourself for the very first time

what was it like when you and how long

after the attack was it when you saw

yourself because you were in a coma for

what two months two months yeah I woke

up I went into the coma probably around

a 30th of April 2013 I woke up around

the end of June

mid to in July can’t remember the date

exactly and within two days of coming

out of the coma I was in a burn unit at

Grady and I know if you can imagine what

that’s like but everybody in there is

just a very depressive type thing

and I was sleep for the whole time I was

there but when you wake up you don’t

want to stay that much longer and so my

surgeon thought it would be best that

I’ve been moved to rehab when you wake

up from a coma the misconception is that

you can just get up and walk around no I

had to learn how to use my arms again I

had to learn how to walk again so they

sent me to rehab at Emory hospital

hospital in Atlanta

another great hospital in Atlanta and

during my time at rehab there was a

nurse who did not get the instructions

that my family did not want me to see my

face now my I still didn’t have my

vision I was still legally blind at that

time but I could see enough to know that

that was not the person who I was before

and so I you know of course I went into

a depression

now the blessing is you know God is

merciful is that I didn’t have my full

vision so the first time I saw myself I

didn’t have my full vision so I didn’t

realize how I looked until a couple of

months later so you can imagine I’m

existing knowing that I’m not the same

but didn’t I have full clarity and – a

couple months later – my eyesight

started to come back which is a miracle

you’re saying you’re kind of grateful

I’m grateful you’re grateful then great

and see the full yeah that sounds crazy

I’m grateful for that coma because that

coma allowed me to not be an agony I’m

grateful for the fact that I didn’t have

my full vision because I would have lost

my mind if I saw what I look like coming

out of that coma you know what I mean

and so over time we prayed and we pray

and we pray and my vision came back

around all because I’m still not I still

don’t have full vision in my right eye

my corneas damaged but you know I can

see everybody in here pretty well and

that is when it hit me

I’d already had probably about four

interviews when I was able to see myself

clearly for the first time my daughter

has seen me one time and I felt so

guilty after seeing myself knowing that

she had seen that my kids had seen that

and I want to know about that how was it

what was the connection like with your

children the first few times they’re

coming in contact with their new mom

yeah

hi I’m Priscilla and I wanted to take an

opportunity to invite you personally to

join me for a seventh session Bible

study on the armor of God will dive

deeply into what it means to be equipped

to stand firm against the schemes of the

enemy he is very real and he has been so

strategic and targeted his attacks

against us why shouldn’t we be equally

strategic and targeted in standing firm

against him and you and I have an

opportunity to suit up to put on some

armor that works and to go to battle and

to see victory declared in our lives in

the lives of those people that we learn

this Bible study will be one that will

change our lives forever and will help

us to walk in victory so plan to join me

won’t you the armor of God

how was it what was the connection like

with your children the first few times

they’re coming in contact with their new

mom yeah

my son believe it or not he he handled

it extremely well he told me later that

that was the only time he’s cried he’s

not a crier

he says mom the only time I’ve ever

cried was after I saw you for the first

time he came in he was so brave you know

that dad and I guess he was trying to

keep him uplifted so he didn’t tell him

how bad it was he’s I really wish dad

had told me how bad this was you know

later this is in retrospect but when he

saw me at the hospital he saw me at

rehab and he saw me sitting there you

know just a hot mess you know like I

said at that time my vision wasn’t

completely back so I didn’t even know

how bad I wasn’t he saw me my daughter

saw me when I got out of rehab she saw

me when I got home and I was I was

starting to get my vision back but I

still it was not until I had my first I

had a surgery for my eyes that made my

vision a little bit better that I was

able to see my face and see what my

children had seen and I just broke down

in tears because I said to myself they

saw this they saw this you know and they

were that was hard doesn’t change you

still wanted to protect your kids and

there was that brave you know I couldn’t

see my daughter for a while though she’s

very emotional and she you know my son

would come over cuz I couldn’t even go

home I couldn’t go home I couldn’t go

home because my ex-husband literally

moved into my house and he took over my

duties in my house because I couldn’t

well I was just learning how to walk and

couldn’t really take care of myself

couldn’t go home and so my son would

come to me and he would spend you know a

couple days at me at a time but I

couldn’t spend that type of time with my

daughter we were so close and that was

the hardest part of this whole this

whole journey was that time away from my

children how has this changed you the

external scars are obvious but what

other physical are there any other

physical things that were damaged that

are not necessarily that what we can see

but ways your life is now altered

physically because of what happened I

don’t have comfort anymore like sitting

here and I talk about this all the time

people understand this but burn skin

does not have electricity or moisture my

skin does not generate moisture and it

doesn’t stretch so I can feel every

movement every time I open my mouth I

can feel myself talking every time I

move my neck I can feel my neck because

my whole face has been grafted so for

the rest of my life this doesn’t go away

because it will never stretch it doesn’t

stretch so it’s just a physical it’s not

a pain it’s just a physical knowing that

my skin is there I can feel my skin do

you feel like yourself do you feel like

the same woman that was about to put on

the cap and gown beautiful and you still

are by the way I hope you know that I

hope you see what we see

as we look at you I’m getting say a

woman of strength of confidence of

beauty of poise you do you all agree

with me we see so much beauty when we

look at you and I hope that you see that

as well girl because listen the fact

that you can sit here and talk about

what you’re grateful for you have said

gratitude or grateful at least three or

four times in these few minutes we’ve

been talking and the fact that you can

do that speaks so much to the kind of

woman that you are

I walk daily with an attitude of

gratitude and people always ask me how

do you get through this how do you get

through this because I find in

everything that’s wrong I find something

that’s right like I don’t have

elasticity in my skin but guess what I

won’t ever wrinkle

at 90 years old my skin will look just

like this in God good bye seriously it’s

crazy as it is it must but my skin won’t

stretch like every other everyone else

we look I hope y’all realize they have

absolutely no excuse and I have our

lives to ever not you know find

something to be grateful for in the

midst of whatever’s going on in our life

Pete you would have to know people get

bits and pieces of my journey but you

would have to know all those sleepless

nights and all those days in isolation

you would have to know my full story to

know why give God so much glory that’s

not a whole the back story the back

story yes and that’s true for all of us

it’s like you don’t know what one of the

Lord has brought me you don’t send me

out one TV and they oh they feel so bad

from but they just don’t know how bad

this was this was it was bad so you’ve

come a long way I’ve come a long way how

was your mother I saw your mother on the

interview that I watched and I saw this

woman of so much grace and poise I could

see the Spirit of God on her and in her

how has your mother been a blessing and

a help to you through this and how is

she doing cuz you’re her baby so how’s

this for her my mother um how do I

describe my mother she is a definition

of holy see I am approaching holiness I

have great potential for holiness I’m

not quite there yet I’m working on it

God is doing a work at your he’s gonna

work in me my mother is there my mother

has enough faith to carry me on the days

when I feel weak my mother is the one

that played gospel music in my room 24

hours a day for two months my mother is

the one that stayed by my bedside for 10

to 12 hours a day sometimes more my

mother is the one that whispered in my

ear every single day greater is coming

baby don’t give up greater is coming my

mother is the one that wouldn’t I let

them graph the bottom half of my leg

because she knows that I’m a sassy girl

and I love wearing dresses

and she said don’t touch to leave her

something to make her feel like a woman

and so normally I would be wearing a

dress and people went away you were just

so much it’s because my mother did that

for me my mother is the one that told

the doctors when they told her she would

never see again

she said the devil is a lot she will see

again and I did see again so my mother

is that quiet strength that person that

takes care of me that person who loves

her husband my stepfather died during

this process a year ago she’s dealing

with taking care of her baby and in her

husband who passed away of cancer and so

I feel a little bit of guilt about that

she spent the entire year of his life

taking care of me the tire last year of

her his life that she could have been

with her husband taking care of me so I

feel some type of way about that you

know you shouldn’t because that’s

exactly where your mom wanted to be

exactly but he stick around you’d have

to know him too he stayed around just

long enough to see me out of the

hospital up walking around again and so

so the readjustment do you feel it’s

been two years now has it been over two

years or just at two years it’s been

about two and a half right do you feel

some sense of normalcy now or do you

feel like that you don’t ever think

you’re going to find on normalcy that

it’s just going to be a brand new

experience altogether that you have to

map out for yourself and for your

children exactly I’m glad you say that

because that’s what people and people

all have this tendency to so you’re

still the same Krista you’re still the

same Christy is it is an insult to my

journey to say that I’m the same Christy

I don’t want to be the same Christy you

can’t be the same person after all that

I’ve been through so what I’m striving

for now and back up back up girl back up

did y’all hear that she said it is an

insult to my journey you know it is to

say that I’m the same person that I was

exactly if you’re tweeting stuff you

need to tweet that right there that’s so

good because your heart

it makes us different what we’ve been

through what the Lord has allowed us to

go through for reasons we will never

understand why he allows certain things

to happen in our life but as we see

fingerprints of His grace and his love

and His goodness it does reshape us it

does in two entirely different people it

does and this has been some I’ve been in

the wilderness and this past two years

has been some biblical I’ve had some

biblical experiences this is a biblical

experience to be honest with you it is

surreal because this time two years ago

where I was what I look like I would

have thought this would be an

impossibility and so that’s how I know

when I have these experiences I’m like

you know what god I see you I see you

because I’m just not supposed to be here

first of all they said I wouldn’t live

and if I live they said I would I

wouldn’t be able to see so not only am I

seeing I’m sitting here with priscilla

shirer I mean come on it’s biblical well

and you know what else is biblical

what’s what what shows signs of God’s

hand in tragedy is when we come out of

it and we see the trajectory of our

course change in such a way that he’s

going to get so much glory out of the

direction that the tragedy took our life

it’s not that we’re thanking him for the

tragedy it’s that we can be grateful

that he can work all things together for

the good of them that love him and are

called according to his purpose so to me

I see the fingerprints of God in that

the enemy might have wanted to shut you

up but here you are sitting not only on

this sofa but on many others you have

been on telling your story and you’re so

careful to give praise to the Lord

through the story it is such a testimony

and have you seen the course of your

life what what you were passionate about

what you wanted to do the direction you

were going in anyway have you seen all

of that so turned in a completely

different direction that you otherwise

never would have taken when this

happened to me I was a mental health HIV

and substance abuse counselor and I was

counseling all men I was helping guys

coming out

the correctional facilities and homeless

guys I was helping them get off drugs I

was helping them on a like I would

council a group of ten guys and I’ll be

and they will be sitting on the edge of

their seats listening to me my little

five to self never been on drugs before

but they would be on the edge of their

seats listening to me

and I was I was really helping these

guys transform their lives I saw a lot

of guys put drugs down go back to their

families and everything and I saw this

as a result of the work that I did with

them and I believe that God said you

know what she can handle that so she can

handle even more I’m going to give her

even more I don’t know why I had to go

through so much physical emotional just

mental pain to get to where I am now but

God’s ways are not our ways and I know

that God didn’t cause this I know that

he allowed this cuz he is all-powerful

but he had nothing to do with this you

know I mean he had nothing to do with

this he allowed this because he knew

what I would do with it he knew what I

was here you are and I made a promise I

made a promise to God while I was lying

in a coma I said God if you just let me

wake up I don’t care what I look like if

you just let me wake up now this is

while you’re in a coma I was actually I

had consciousness while I was in a coma

so you you have conscious thought memory

right now around time when you me and

God we had all countertops when you line

in a coma you can’t talk to nobody but

God so you’re aware of people around you

you’re aware a voice is your favorite

was my mother claim my mother played

music for me 24 hours a day not knowing

that I could hear I woke up from a coma

two months later and I knew every song

on the radio

word for word word for every gospel song

she kept the spirit of God she kept

tossing you in my ear 24 hours day not

even knowing that I can hear I can hear

every single word and I can hear every

single prayer every single prayer and in

that coma I said God just let me wake up

don’t let my children be a motherless

children I just want to wake up and

raise my kids and if you let me wake up

I will glorify you publicly publicly not

in private publicly for the rest of my

life he continues to put me in public

forums all the time because I

of denial I never did I have because I

kept because he kept his promise and I

kept mine and now your mission one of

your many probably is to speak to the

heart of women that could be in this

exact same position and maybe don’t even

see it clearly they don’t even know

what’s coming down the track like me I

was in a cycle of abuse you know we put

domestic violence into this box a man’s

punching on a woman she’s walking around

with black eyes mm-hmm yes that wasn’t

the case for me this guy didn’t have

financial control over me but he did

have control over me he had control over

me he had me checking in and I didn’t

know I was checking in he had trained me

too if I was going somewhere to call him

because I knew if I didn’t Khan was

gonna be an argument that’s control yeah

he had me if I went to the gas station a

pump I guess he had a problem he going

to the gas station to pump my gas

because he was afraid I might see

another guy and the guy might want to

pump my gas and be attracted to me

mm-hmm

Home Depot anywhere with me and frequent

it it was a problem that’s abuse doesn’t

that’s anytime you make somebody feel

uncomfortable in their own space in

their own it’s abuse so yes we want to

talk about your foundation we want to

talk about where you’re going what your

future looks like the trajectory the

path the brand-new path that you are now

on what that looks like and the message

we can share to lift somebody who finds

themselves in a similar situation that

you were in so listen this is just part

one of my conversation with Christy

Simms you are going to want to make sure

you stay tuned because in our part 2

we’re going to talk more with her you

see such strength from this woman I most

certainly do

we’re sitting here getting a lesson in

having faith and walking by faith and

not by sight and so I love the fact that

you are here my friend would you guys

please help me thank Christy sir