How Eddie McGuire helped White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt go to the footy again

How Eddie McGuire helped brave, grieving White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt go to the footy again.

White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt has spoken of the bittersweet experience of facing yet another “first” without her father and younger sister by her side.

The 24-year-old watched her beloved Collingwood Football Club from the corporate boxes – the first time she has been to the football without Paul and Krystal, who both died in the deadly explosion 15 months ago.

“The footy is something special between us that I got to share with them and going without them seemed impossibly hard,” Stephanie wrote on her Instagram page this week.

Stephanie Browitt with Eddie McGuire at the footy. Picture: Instagram

“The thought of trying to go to the football again was something I have thought about constantly since recovering in hospital as I didn’t think I could go and enjoy it.

“In all honesty I actually felt guilty that I have the option of going to a game but they don’t get to ever again.

“My dad was so passionate towards the AFL and CarltonFC. (He hated that his two daughters both went for Collingwood and constantly dragged us lol.)”

Stephanie, dressed in her pressure garments as part of her ongoing recovery from head-to-toe burns, was snapped with former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire at the match.

“Thanks to some amazing people I got to experience my first game back in a new way which made it that little bit easier,” she wrote.

“I truly hope both my dad and sister are watching from above, happy that I got to enjoy the footy. I know dad would’ve had a blast if he was there too.”

McGuire said he and former Bulldogs president Peter Gordon were delighted to co-host Stephanie and her mother Marie in a corporate box at the Round 1 Magpies versus Doggies clash.

“We had a wonderful night, Steph and I had to fight against Peter Gordon on the night, unfortunately,” McGuire said.

“She’s just a beautiful, wonderful person, and it was great to have her back at the footy. It always underlines what football means to everybody.

“You read the newspapers and it’s all about the players, but it’s the supporters that make it happen,” McGuire said. “Steph is a great example of that; a wonderful football supporter, and a mad Collingwood supporter.

“Hopefully she got something back from the game that she loves.”

Stephanie has been bravely sharing photos of the webbing of scars that cover her entire back on her social media page, explaining to other burns survivors how she is turning to laser treatment to help breakdown the thick tissue.

“Sometimes good things come in time and you have to learn to be patient,” she wrote.

“I’ve definitely come to realise that with my recovery and healing. It’s a long journey but a very rewarding one and photos like these remind me why the hard work is worth going through.

“For other survivors, the hard work pays off.”