- Juliana was enjoying a romantic date night dinner with her girlfriend when things took a terrifying turn
- Juliana received third-degree burns to her upper body and spent 20 days in an induced coma
- Now Juliana is sharing her story to warn others about the dangers of using accelerants near flames
Here Juliana Maddeira Alves, 29, tells her story in her own words
Warning: The contents of this article contain graphic content
Walking hand in hand through the grocery store, my girlfriend Jane* and I shopped for ingredients for a romantic dinner for two.
It was June 2022, and we were excited when we stumbled across a fondue pot.
Placing it in our trolley, we grabbed a chunk of provolone cheese and a loaf of crusty bread to dip into the cheesy goodness.
Back at home, I lit the small gas stove which sat under the fondue pot to start melting the cheese, then we got ready for our perfect night in.
Getting comfortable, we put on our matching pyjamas – silk shorts and tank tops – and sat down at the dining table.
Just then, Jane got down on one knee.
‘Will you marry me?’ she smiled, sliding a glittering diamond engagement ring onto my finger.
I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
‘I love you,’ I beamed.
Dipping hunks of bread into the piping hot bubbling cheese moments later, I couldn’t stop staring at the sparkly rock on my finger.
Noticing the flame under the fondue fading, Jane and I took turns adding a pump of gel hand sanitiser to make it blaze again.
The flame kept flickering out, so we did it several times without issue.
READ MORE: ‘I Was A Human Fireball!’
Then when it was my turn to add another pump, something went terribly wrong.
This time, I watched in shock as the flame beneath the fondue pot exploded into a ball of fire and roared towards me.
Within seconds it’d travelled up my arms and engulfed my upper body.
I screamed with terror, the red hot inferno devouring my silk PJs.
As the flames licked my skin, which had been splattered with molten melted cheese, I felt like my body was boiling.
I was a human fireball!
While Jane tried to douse the blazing fondue pot before the fire engulfed our home, I tore off what was left of my clothes and ran towards the kitchen tap.
Throwing cold water over myself, I tried to put out the fire.
It’s not working, I panicked. I was cooking from the outside in.
Racing into the shower, I collapsed on the tiles as the cold water rained down on me.
Running my hand over my neck, I watched as a chunk of blackened burnt skin washed down the drain.
The skin on my hands looked like it was melting, and my arms were covered in angry blisters.
READ MORE: ‘I was barbecued alive on my birthday camping trip’
The pain was excruciating.
‘Please don’t let me die!’ I begged desperately to Jane.
Helping me into the car, she rushed me to the local hospital, a three-minute drive away.
Within seconds of arriving at Emergency, doctors began flooding into the room to inspect my charred body.
Suddenly, my world went dark…
Groggily coming to, I saw my mum, Ana, 56, and dad, Newton, 70, at my bedside.
‘Thank God you’re okay,’ Mum sobbed.
Now wrapped in bandages, I learned I had been in an induced coma for 20 days, and I’d had 21 gruelling surgeries where skin grafts from my thigh were placed on my face, arm, neck and chest.
I’d suffered terrible burns to my upper body, including third degree burns.
At one time I even caught Dad – who never cries – sobbing.
‘The doctor said he didn’t know how you were still alive,’ he wept.
After spending another 20 days in the ICU, I was moved to the burns unit for further treatment and began my uphill battle of learning to walk again.
Sadly Jane and I separated.
READ MORE: ‘My Kitchen Rules winner: ‘I was a human fireball’’
But my parents were by my side as I got a little stronger every day.
By my third week in recovery, I was back on my feet and learning how to walk again.
But even on pain medication, the agony was indescribable.
‘What’s the point of living, I’m so ugly,’ I cried to Mum.
Then one day, my brother, Rodrigo, 36, came to visit me with his daughter Sofia, five.
‘Get better soon Aunty Juju. We have lots of playing to do,’ Sofia said, gently kissing my hand.
Thinking of beautiful Sofia and her little sister Laura, three, I found the strength to push on.
‘I’m going to get better for you,’ I promised Sofia.
Incredibly, after 40 days in hospital, I was discharged so I could continue recovering at home.
More than a year and a half on, while I’m still receiving treatment for my scars, heartbreakingly I’ve also lost 60 per cent of the hearing in my left ear, and still suffer nerve pain and PTSD.
Terrifyingly, some nights I have horrific nightmares that I’m on fire.
Hoping to inspire other burns victims who are ready to give up on their journey to survival, I decided to share my story on my Instagram page.
Being alive is my greatest gift, I wrote.
And it’s true.
Despite my challenges, I’m back living my life to the fullest.
Travelling around the country as a DJ, despite my hearing loss, I love sharing my music and love for life with a crowded dance floor.
When not performing, I’m spending every chance I get playing with my two beautiful nieces.
I’m sharing my story to warn others never to put accelerant of any kind on a fire, even something like hand sanitiser that you might think of as safe.
Playing with fire almost cost me my life, but now I’m making every minute of my second chance count.
