Tears of joy as White Island volcano survivor comes home
Stephanie Browitt suffered third-degree burns to 70 per cent of her body and lost her father and sister when the White Island volcano erupted last year. Now friends and family have welcomed her home to Craigieburn.
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White Island volcano victim Stephanie Browitt has returned home after six months in hospital.
Dozens of family and friends welcomed the 23-year-old back with balloons to her Craigieburn childhood home on Friday.
“I made it,” she posted on Instagram on Friday.
Ms Browitt suffered third-degree burns to 70 per cent of her body and lost parts of her fingers when the New Zealand volcano erupted on December 9.
Younger sister Krystal, 21, died on the island while her father, Paul, died in hospital a month later.
Her mother, Marie, cried with joy as her only surviving daughter returned home.
She said she felt Paul and Krystal were watching over the reunion “like angels”.
In a message to the Herald Sun, Mrs Browitt said her “beautiful friends” and the Craigieburn community had become her family over the painful six months since Paul and Krystal died.
When Stephanie arrived home late on Friday morning wearing a pressure suit for her severe burns, she couldn’t hug her friends because of her fragile skin and COVID-19 social distancing.
Donations helped pay for a special bed for Stephanie and other equipment to allow her to live at home, Mrs Browitt said.
“I’m just so grateful for the generosity of people and for the kindness of our community … and feel very humble,” she said.
“I was surrounded by beautiful people today.”
A family friend who attended the homecoming, said Ms Browitt was “very strong” mentally and had been supporting her mother through the pain of losing her husband and youngest daughter.
The family was on a “holiday of a lifetime” aboard the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship when Paul, Stephanie and Krystal went on a tour of the island.
A total of 21 people died as a result of the eruption.
Ms Browitt previously posted on Instagram about the day of the tragedy.
“We were heading back off the volcano, when at 2.11pm we looked back and saw ash coming out,” she wrote.
“Not thinking much of it Dad said to take a picture. The front tour guide heard us, looked back, and screamed ‘RUN’.”
If you would like to help Stephanie and her family you can follow this link to a gofundme page to donate.
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