SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) — It sounds like something out of a movie: two intruders break into a man’s home, throw acid all over him, and vanish into thin air.
However, that was reality for Christopher Phiouthong, and he has lived with it for the last six years.
For the first time, though, Phiouthong is sharing what he calls a story of hope.
“It’s easy to forget that life can change so quickly,” Phiouthong said. “No one prepares you for a situation like this — no movie or TV show really, really paints this reality.”
THE CRIME:
In 2018, Phiouthong was relaxing after coming home after work. While in the shower, he heard a knock at the door.
At first, without thinking, he thought it was his sister at the door. Suddenly, someone knocked down his door. He saw a shadowed figure standing in the doorway.
“They hid in the dark purposely, so I couldn’t see them,” he recalled.
Two people broke into his home, but he didn’t know about the second person until something was suddenly thrown at him.
“I’m stumbling, and I’m trying to figure out what’s on me, and I would come to realize that it’s sulfuric acid that was thrown on me, and I can’t see. I’m stumbling, I’m trying to get to the bathtub, I can’t get the faucet working, and I can’t get up enough to the sink, to try to get the water to work, so I’m reaching into the toilet to get the water from the toilet to try to get the acid out of my eyes,” he described.
The people who committed the crime got away as the neighbors called for help after hearing Phiouthong’s screams. Nobody has ever been caught in connection with the incident.
“Because none of my things was taken, I knew that it was a targeted attack, I just, I don’t know who and I don’t know why…I still got more questions than answers about that night,” he said.
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY:
This is the first time Phiouthong has ever spoken publicly about what happened to him. He even admitted that most of his family doesn’t know.
That night, the acid burned more than 60% of his body.
“The only thing going through my head is, ‘What’s going on? This can’t be real,’ and the only thing that I knew was, ‘If I don’t get out of this house, I’m going to die,'” Phiouthong explained. “I didn’t ask to live. If anything, I wanted to die in the back of that ambulance because there’s a kind of pain that I felt that I can’t even describe, I didn’t even know was possible.”
Days would turn into months as he underwent several surgeries with his family by his side, including his mom, who was there every day. For that reason, when Phiouthong could finally write, he wrote on a piece of paper, “I love you, Mom.”
“I just remember, ‘I want to have surgery so I can go under, and if I’m under, I’m not in the ICU fighting for my life; if I’m under, I’m imagining seeing my family, I’m imagining seeing my friends, my kids, people that I love and care about,’ and I wanted any way to escape, and it was just asking when the next surgery was,” Phiouthong told News 2.
Now, out of the hospital, he is living life day by day. He said God and his family have kept him going.
“I should have every reason to look down on my life, my circumstances, but I’m almost grateful. I got to experience an outpouring of love,” said Phiouthong.
However, his story doesn’t end there.
Phiouthong is telling his tale on Saturday, July 13 at the Christ Church in Nashville. He plans to share testimony, tears, and a few jokes. The event starts at 7 p.m.