Tanya St Arnauld, the South Shore woman who was the victim of an acid attack in 2012, says her life is slowly getting back on track.
“I'm resilient, I'm lucky for that, but I am still a girl, still look at myself in the mirror. You know, we like to see ourselves cute,” she said.
St Arnauld has been getting laser treatments in the United States for the last few months.
She met with a Miami dermatologist thanks to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, after she appeared on his talk show last year.
St Arnauld says her range of motion has improved since the treatment.
“You can see how supple my skin is. Burn victims, after five years, their skin is still rock hard. So all my body got more mobility due to the flexibility in my scar."
With burns mainly on her arms, chest and back, St Arnauld has at least one treatment left to undergo in Miami, followed by more surgeries in Montreal.
“It's a hard procedure to look at yourself, especially when you go in the shower, or whatever. You are looking at yourself and like, well, this is my body now. And it is really different with the laser treatments, but I am still burnt,” St Arnauld says, adding that she is eager to move on.
“I said to myself I have to face it, so forget about the layers -- I wore shorts this summer.”
Putting pressure on Quebec government
The laser treatment St Arnauld has been receiving in Miami is not available in Quebec.
She says she wants to work with medical professionals in Montreal and politicians to bring the procedure north of the border.
“It's so much more than the beauty issue — it's the movement, it's the mobility, it's everything. If we can put a bit of pressure on the government and get those lasers ... that would be great.”
Court date next month
St Arnauld's ex-boyfriend, 27-year-old Nikolas Stefanatos of Brossard, Que., has been charged with three counts of assault, including aggravated assault. He’s due back in court in February to set a trial date.