Bionic-limb woman whose husband severed her hands learns to ‘accept her body’ with sexy photo shoot

A Russian woman whose rage-filled husband took her into a forest and chopped off her hands has spoken out about her recovery and battle to “accept” her body in the aftermath.

Margarita Grachyova was 25 years old when her ex-husband Dmitry drove her out into the woods, and in a fit of jealousy and rage, broke her wrists with an axe, cut off her fingers and eventually both of her hands, telling her that if he could not be with her, she would be a “cripple.” The maniacal husband also struck her legs with an axe several times.

Doctors were able to re-attach one of Margarita’s hands with extensive surgery, but she now uses a prosthetic in place of the other. Writing on her VKontakte page on Monday, Margarita said that after the attack she began to feel like she was "not attractive" anymore.

For a girl who didn't have any particular flaws (a pimple that popped out every two months does not count), I turned into a girl without a hand and with lots of scars on my left arm and leg.

She said she had still "not yet learned how to accept" herself after the December 2017 attack, adding that even now she feels upset and annoyed by the appearance of her hands and legs.

But the harrowing event has also taught Margarita some lessons about the nature of attractiveness and beauty.

"Sexiness is not only about the appearance” of a person — or the length of their legs, or hair, or having a mole in the right place, she wrote. It's a feeling "deeper, somewhere inside."

Vk.com/Маргарита Грачёва/БЕЛЫЙ КЛЕВЕР фотостудия Серпухов

Along with the social media post, Margarita posted pictures from a photoshoot showing her prosthetic hand. The post attracted hundreds of supportive comments, echoing her sentiments about beauty and praising her appearance and inner strength.

"Do not even allow such thoughts," one commenter wrote. "You are beautiful" another wrote. "You are an example of courage,” said another. 

Dmitry Grachyov was sentenced to 14 years in a high-security prison in November 2018. He was also ordered to pay $35,000 in damages to his ex-wife, who successfully petitioned for sole custody of their two young children. Margarita said at the time that she expected a harsher punishment. 

The brutal 2017 crime shocked Russia and led to the firing of police officers over criminal negligence after they failed to heed Margarita's pleas to swiftly intervene against her controlling, violent husband.

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