Katharina Buczek
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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