Woman who lost dad and sister in volcano eruption marks day family was ‘ripped apartтАЩ – World News
Stephanie Browitt, 25, survived with third-degree burns but lost her sister Krystal, 21, and dad Paul. She has marked her ‘burnversary’ by reflecting on the day her family was ‘ripped apart’
Stephanie Browitt suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body
A burn survivor who lost her sister and father to a volcano eruption has marked her тАЬburnversaryтАЭ by reflecting on the day her family were тАЬripped apartтАЭ.
Stephanie Browitt, 25, was with her sister Krystal, 21, and dad Paul, when a volcano erupted on the coast of Whakatane on New ZealandтАЩs North Island on December 9, 2019.
Stephanie survived with third-degree burns to 70 per cent of her body but her sister and Paul were killed along with 20 other people on the island at the time.
Her mother Marie had stayed behind on the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship and watched on helplessly as tragedy struck.
Stephanie, who now wears a protective face mask, posted photos of her family on Thursday to mark the occasion.
Ms Browitt now wears a protective face mask
She wrote: тАЬToday marks two years since the incident my family and I were a part of. The day that ripped us apart.
“For a lot of burn survivors they call it their тАЬburnversaryтАЭ, a day where they can celebrate their achievements, accomplishments and the fact that they survived such awful tragedyтАЩs on this very date.
тАЬI truly want to celebrate all that I have accomplished since I was severely burnt, just like other burn survivors do.
She has become an advocate for burns survivors since the incident
тАЬUnfortunately todayтАЩs not only the day I survived the unimaginable, itтАЩs the day I lost my dad, Paul and sister, Krystal. ItтАЩs the day that they were taken from us.тАЭ
Stephanie, who has become an advocate for burns survivors since the incident, said her accomplishments “mean nothingтАЭ when she cannot share them with her lost loved ones.
She continued: тАЬEveryday I question why we couldnтАЩt have gone through this extremely hard journey together, why they couldnтАЩt be here also.
On Thursday, Ms Browitt posted photos of her family to mark the day which тАЬripped us apartтАЭ.
тАЬIтАЩm extremely grateful that I was able to make it back home to my mum, but IтАЩm also heartbroken that only I made it back. We are a family of four, not two.
тАЬMy heart hurts when I remember what I felt that day, but it hurts more not knowing what my dad and sister felt, that I wasnтАЩt next to them during their last moments.тАЭ
She described the past two years as a period of тАЬloss, pain and never ending griefтАЭ and said she missed her dad and sister every day тАЬso much it kills meтАЭ.
The volcano erupted on the coast of Whakatane on New ZealandтАЩs North Island on December 9, 2019
In November 2020, New ZealandтАЩs workplace safety watchdog charged 13 parties – including tour operators and the islandтАЩs owners – with failings.
All defendants have pleaded not guilty but they could be liable for millions of dollars in fines.
Read More
Read More
