A woman who survived the White Island volcano eruption in December 2019 has removed her compression face mask for the first time in more than two years after sustaining life-threatening burns.
Per News.com.au, 26-year-old Stephanie Browitt was on a cruise with her family from Australia to New Zealand when they decided to join a day excursion to White Island.
Unfortunately, the volcano erupted on the island on December 9, 2019, claiming the lives of 22 people - including Browitt's 21-year-old sister Krystal and father Paul.
Browitt spent two weeks in a coma fighting for her life after suffering third-degree burns on 70% of her body. She also lost parts of her fingers. Since the incident, she has spent the last two and a half years undergoing surgeries and skin grafts. During this time, she has been wearing the compression face mask to aid her recovery.
She also uses social media as a means to document her difficult road to recovery to her 160K followers on Instagram and more than 1.6 million followers on TikTok.
The White Island survivor reflected on the tragedy in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia and revealed her face after removing her compression face mask.
Watch her interview below:The removal of the face mask was the last of several bandages Browitt has been covered up in to help her skin heal from the horrific burns.
"It’s emotional and scary. It is actually quite daunting as much as it is exciting," she said. She then looked into a mirror after taking off the mask and said she is tougher than she ever thought she could be.
"I see a person who has gone through so much more than I ever expected to go through in life. I see a very tormented person," she said. "As much as this is exciting, it has been a long, hard journey to get here. I am tougher than I ever thought I would be.
"I have [learned] that the fight for survival is a real thing. I was literally fighting every day to survive, to just get back to being myself. I never knew that I had this in me."
After her interview aired Browitt shared pictures of her post burns and post-compression garment on Instagram thanking her followers for their support. She also wrote that the removal of her mask is "over two years in the making" and that "giving up was never an option".
Per Sky News, while Browitt's face mask removal is a jubilant moment in her recovery, she also spoke about the loss of her dad and sister.
"I do wish my dad and sister were still alive and still with me and that they could be here for this moment," she said. "I just hope that I have made them proud of who I’ve become over the past few years. That’s all I can wish for."
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