An Australian women who survived the devastating White Island eruption has spoken out about losing her badly burnt fingers.
Stephanie Browitt 23, from Melbourne, is still recovering from her injuries after being caught in the volcanic eruption in New Zealand on December 9 last year.
Tragically, her father Paul and sister Krystal, 21, were killed in the disaster. Stephanie’s mother Maria didn’t join the day trip to the island and instead stayed on the cruise ship where the family had been enjoying a holiday.
Now Stephanie, who was allowed home after six months in hospital, has shared her reaction to doctors deciding to partially amputate her fingers on her Instagram page.
‘Funnily enough, when I found out my fingers had to go I wasn’t that upset,’ Stephanie explained. ‘I was grateful I still had my hands because when the eruption happened I remember seeing my hands and realising how bad they were.
‘My nails were hanging off, skin in shreds and also peeling off.’
Stephanie said she was grateful to surgeons at The Alfred in Melbourne for saving her hands. ‘’They put so much care into my hands with my skin grafts… They’ve healed amazingly.’
She added she would need further surgeries in order to have more use of her remaining fingers.
Stephanie shared her journey on her Instagram page @stephaniecoral96
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