Annie Perez, who is from Chingford, east London, was airlifted to hospital on Sardinia, Italy, woke up with bandages around her arms and legs following the horror
01:21, 25 Nov 2025Updated 01:30, 25 Nov 2025
Annie Perez suffered severe burns when she had an epileptic seizure in a hot shower(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
A Brit suffered such severe burns she couldn’t walk for 18 months after an epileptic seizure in a hot shower on holiday in Italy.
Annie Perez’s dream trip to Italy turned into a nightmare when she experienced the disruption of brain activity in the bathtub and was airlifted to hospital. The Londoner, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at 15, woke up with bandages around her arms and legs, after sustaining burns to 11% of her body.
After a three-week stay in the Italian hospital, the woman was transported to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London where she stayed for two months. The burns were so severe that some scorched her “to the bone” leaving her unable to walk unaided for 18 months.
Annie, 38, still has no recollection of what happened and was grateful for her friends who spotted water flood under the bathroom door in the accommodation.
READ MORE: TV presenter and TikToker, 21, dies at home as family address ‘natural causes’READ MORE: Girl, 4, drowns during swimming lesson at private nursery with no lifeguardThe 38-year-old woman, pictured before the horror, couldn’t walk for 18 months after the seizure(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
More than three years after her accident in June 2022, Annie is still having therapy for her injuries and is now fundraising to freeze her eggs so she can have children in future. Annie, who is a charity manager, said: “It took a couple of days for me to come around, I woke up in hospital and saw those thick white bandages on both of my legs and my left arm.
“I was bed bound the whole time so I didn’t feel any pain and they were giving me strong painkillers. They started taking these bandages off and unravelling each layer and the colour started to show.
“I thought ‘gosh this looks quite something’, each layer got me more scared of what I was going to see. I remember it started to hurt the closer they were getting to my skin. I remember seeing my left leg, ankle and foot.
“I didn’t quite understand what I was looking at. The outer burns were quite crispy so I could tell that was burnt skin, it was like something you would see in pictures in anatomy class. Around 11% of my body was burned. Some areas to the bone, others to the muscle.”
Annie suffered some gruesome injuries to her skin(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Annie, from Chingford, east London, who had been abroad with friends to see a band, still receives laser therapy, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy and has suffered nerve damage in her left ankle.
She said she couldn’t walk independently for almost two years after the incident and had to use a wheelchair at first, before swapping to a frame and walking sticks. A year after the incident, Annie said she re-visited Sardinia and was able to make new memories.
Annie said: “I was discharged and I wasn’t able to walk independently for 18 months. I was in a wheelchair initially and I had a frame and walking sticks and then one walking stick.
“I still receive laser therapy, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. I have quite a lot of nerve damage in my ankle and lots of pins and needles if I stand still. The left leg is the most impacted. My right leg is healing well, it’s a process.
“It’s impacted my confidence as a woman. It’s been very difficult for me to manage recovery alongside work, relationships, intimacy, keeping my fitness up.
“You just have to adapt constantly. I have to accept that what’s happening it’s going to be for the rest of my life. It’s a really lovely place to go, I did revisit the following year and went to the hospital and met everybody.”
Annie has set up a GoFundMe to privately fund egg freezing following her horror accident. To donate, visit this link.
