Since Suffering Severe Burns During A Friendsgiving Bonfire Accident, This 19-Year-Old Has Been Sharing The Challenges And Triumphs Of Her Recovery Journey Online

With the weather in full chill and Thanksgiving right around the corner, countless friend groups throughout the country will be planning their own holiday dinner to give thanks.

But, after this nineteen-year-old named Natalie attended her “Friendsgiving” event on November 25, 2019, her life changed forever.

That night, she recalled having a wonderful time. Natalie and her friends had feasted on traditional Thanksgiving sides before deciding to light up a cozy bonfire.

What was supposed to be a nice end to the evening and warm everybody up, though, quickly turned into a tragedy.

After gasoline was poured on the bonfire, the flames exploded and set both Natalie and her friend, James, on fire.

They were both med-flighted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, where Natalie spent seventy-seven days in the burn unit before going to rehab.

She sustained severe burns on her face, chest, arms, hands, and back, and within her first year of recovery, Natalie underwent twelve laser surgeries, a free-flap neck surgery, and five full-thickness skin graft surgeries.

While grappling with the tragic accident, though, Natalie never shied away from sharing her story and educating the community about what it’s like to be a burn survivor.

Instagram; pictured above is Natalie

In March of 2020, just one month after she was discharged from the hospital, Natalie began sharing her story on her Instagram account, @NatalieSkyye.

“I am not 100% better. My body is still burned. I still have therapy, and I still have surgeries to undergo. I still struggle with the way I look and how others look at me,” she began in a post on March 9, 2020.

“But I made it to my seventeenth birthday, and I am going to heal.”

And ever since then, Natalie has continued to document the most intimate parts of her journey. She has shared everything from the hardships of dealing with scarring and surgeries to her triumphs– like graduating from high school and starting cosmetology school this past summer.

Throughout it all, though, Natalie has never stopped smiling or giving thanks for her recovery journey. And her transparency and dedication to positivity have helped inspire her over twenty-one thousand Instagram followers to feel confident in their own skin.

“Can y’all believe two years ago I had my neck surgery done? Does anyone remember that time? The healing and the anticipation?” she asked in an Instagram post this past August.

“I have never had to practice so much patience, but I guess it paid off! Celebrating these little victories truly makes me feel more proud of myself– because I struggled hard for a long time. And I am just happy to be where I am now.”

To keep up with Natalie as she heals, to educate yourself about burn survivorship, and support her journey, you can visit her Instagram account linked here.

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