Woman Who Survived A Volcano Eruption Recalls The Horrific Day That Changed Her Life Forever
A woman who almost lost her life to a volcano eruption has shared revealing details about he horrific experience.
Stephanie Coral Browitt was among a group of tourists on White Island in New Zealand when the volcano erupted back in 2019 and was consequently burned severely, which led to multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and the continual wearing of compression bandages, including a full face mask.
Stephanie has been sharing the terrifying story on social media while clearing up assumptions about her injuries.
She said the following:
“A lot have asked what actually burnt me that day, some think it’s lava, and the answer is no, it wasn’t lava. This volcano didn’t actually erupt lava, instead what we were caught in was pyroclastic flow.”
@stephaniecoral96 What actually burned me? #fy #fyp #survivor #burnssurvivor #eruptionsurvivor #burns #recovery #4u #whiteislanderuption #eruptionsurvivor
Pyroclastic flow is a mixture of hot gases and volcanic matter, which includes ash. As Stephanie goes on to say, it is much deadlier than lava, due to the cloud flowing so fast that it’s simply not an option to run away from it.
@stephaniecoral96 #duet with @abbienogail couldn’t be more thankful to you all and sending all my love 💖 #burns #burnsurvivor #survivor #fy #fyp
She and her family were more than 100 meters away from the crater, and while she made it out alive, her dad and her sister lost their lives in the catastrophe.
Following a 90 minute wait, she was saved by helicopter emergency services and brought to a hospital with burns covering around 70% of her body.
In a subsequent clip, Stephanie goes on to explain that her injuries were different from fire burns because while they did not spread across her whole body, she still needed to have skin grafts around her lips, nose and eyes.
@stephaniecoral96 Answer to @jerseybabes12 🥺☺️ #fy #fyp #survivor #burnssurvivor #eruptionsurvivor #burns #recovery #4u #whiteislanderuption #strong #mentally #staystrong #qna #askstephy
Despite the shattering experience, however, she says she has found a way to see the positive side of life with the help of her mother, and by drawing inspiration from other burn survivors such as Turia Pritt and Katie Piper.
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