She Survived The White Island Volcano Eruption, And After More Than 2 Years Of Recovery, Removed Her Final Compression Bandage On 60 Minutes Australia
On December 9, 2019, New Zealand’s White Island Volcano erupted. Forty-seven tourists were exploring the volcano that day, and only twenty-five survived.
Stephanie Browitt, a now twenty-six-year-old, was one of the tourists. She had been visiting with her family when the volcano violently spewed gas, ash, and rock everywhere. Stephanie’s father and younger sister both perished in the disaster. And she, too, was severely injured.
Stephanie was left with third-degree burns covering seventy percent of her body. After being airlifted to a local hospital and spending about two weeks in a coma, she has spent the last two and a half years recovering from the tragedy.
Stephanie has undergone numerous skin-graft surgeries, causing her to need bandages that covered nearly her entire body.
Over the past two and a half years, the bandages have slowly come off. But, one still remained– her face dressing.
This past month, Stephanie appeared on 60 Minutes Australia to bravely tell her story. She also shared a milestone with viewers around the world– Stephanie removed her face compression bandage for the first time since the disaster on live television.
“It has been a long time. It has felt like forever, and as though this day would never come,” she said while revealing her face.
Stephanie also recalled her feelings on the day of the disaster. After seeing thick, black smoke spewing from the top of the volcano, her tour guide screamed, “run.”
Instagram; pictured above is Stephanie
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“That’s when we realized and made the split-second decision to just bolt,” she explained.
Stephanie painfully described how she could hear the sound of rocks pounding the ground and people crying out for their lives.
“I did not think I would survive. I thought I was going to die,” Stephanie said.
Since that day, she has endured many sleepless nights– trying to cope with the pain of losing her father and sister while dealing with her own health battles.
“Even now, it still hurts a lot. I just hope my sister and dad can see me now and what I have gone through,” Stephanie said.
Following the monumental 60 Minutes interview, she also shared her “first official selfies post-burns and post-compression garment” on Instagram.
Wearing beautiful winged eyeliner and a pink lip, Stephanie thanked her followers for their unwavering support and encouragement over the years.
Instagram; pictured above is Stephanie in her first selfie in more than 2 years
“Thank you all so much for your kindness, compassion, support, and love. I am so grateful to have such an amazing community who have helped me to reach where I am today,” Stephanie said.
She also added that “giving up was never an option.”
To learn more about Stephanie’s journey to recovery, you can find her entire 60 Minutes interview linked here. Or, to follow along with Stephanie’s journey, you can visit her Instagram account linked here.
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