Woman Wears Swimsuit for First Time After Volcano Eruption Caused Life-Threatening Burns and 8 Amputations (Exclusive)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Stephanie-Browitt-6-031825-0564c619b84d4d768698d0bf04cb0fc2.jpg)
03/19/2025 04:30 AM
Stephanie Coral Browitt survived a deadly volcanic disaster in 2019. Today, after years of a "painful and exhausting" recovery journey, she says she's learning to "love myself in my new skin"
Warning: this post contains graphic images.
- In 2019, Stephanie Coral Browitt survived a life-threatening volcanic eruption in New Zealand that killed her father and sister
- The incident left her with third-degree burns on the majority of her body. She also had to amputate eight of her fingers
- This month, Browitt, 28, wore a swimsuit for the first time since the accident
Stephanie Coral Browitt's life changed in the blink of an eye when, in 2019, she and her family embarked on a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation across New Zealand. Seeking a new experience like any other tourist, Browitt, her father, Paul, and her sister Krystal, went on a tour of White Island, an active volcano.
"What felt like a normal day, changed out of nowhere," she tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview.
Adventure quickly turned deadly as smoke rising from a crater lake indicated that something was very wrong. "Within seconds, we realized it was erupting and we all began to run for our lives. It all happened so fast that we had no chance of escaping it."
She was hit with pyroclastic flow (gas and volcanic material that is caused by an eruption), but instead of meeting her demise, she thought about her mother, who stayed behind on the ship due to her Multiple Sclerosis. Then, she remembered thinking: "She needs us, I have to survive for her."
And she did. Though her sister and father were among those who died, Browitt, who was 23 at the time, came out of the harrowing incident alive, but with life-threatening injuries that would affect her to this day.
Eight of her fingers were amputated while 70% of her body — including her face, hands, legs, abdomen, back and chest — suffered from full-thickness burns (also known as third-degree burns, which affect all layers of the skin and, sometimes, the fat, muscles and nerves underneath, per Mayo Clinic).
Browitt, who lives in Australia and is now 28, was in the hospital for six months going through "long, painful and exhausting" recuperation. Surgeries, which were at first conducted every other day, involved the debridement or removal of dead tissue and the application of grafts crafted from donated skin as well as her own. Her healing was also facilitated by hyperbaric chambers, various forms of therapy, including speech sessions, laser treatments and whole-body compression garments.
"Learning to love myself in my new skin has taken time. I was extremely self-conscious and worried about being judged every day," Browitt explains of the emotional tolls caused by her physical state.
However, she recently achieved a new milestone in her journey of self-acceptance — wearing a two-piece swimsuit for the first time since her accident left her body covered in scars, and then documenting the moment on social media.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Prior to sharing the photos, Browitt said she was hesitant about wearing such a revealing look, even though she'd spent every summer growing up soaking in the sun on the beach. Her motivation? A trip to La Roche-Posay's thermal bath and spa center in France, of which she has been sharing videos online.
"I spent a lot of time finding the right [swimsuit]. When I wore it for the first time, I was nervous and could feel my heart racing," she says. Fear of judgment quickly dissipated when she realized, in the most positive way, that people "didn't care."
Browitt admits that, after the accident, she struggled to figure out who she was in her new skin. "Self-identity is huge throughout your teenage years and here I was having to start all over again. It was tough. For a long time, I was using clothing as a source of protection to hide my true self, my new skin."
Related: Pilot Relives How He Escaped Volcano Eruption by Jumping Into Sea: 'I Hit the Water, It Went Black'
Gradually, she started to not only fall back in love with herself, but also with her sense of style. "I no longer dress to hide, I dress to feel good about myself. I'm not ashamed of how I look, I'm proud of what my body has done for me," she says, adding that her clothing choices these days reflect her growth throughout the years.
When asked how she's overcome hurdles in her life, Browitt says it's been a slow and steady journey. "I was taught in hospital to take things one day at a time and that's something I always remind myself of now. Otherwise, you'll find it difficult to overcome anything."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Looking back, Browitt knows that life "will never be the same as what it once was." She'll still have to deal with ongoing "issues" and "require" surgery for the rest of her life, but she's come to terms with all that knowing that her skin's condition, which is a now a symbol of her bravery, will only improve from here.
As she continues on with her new life, Browitt's goal is to advocate for other burn survivors like herself by sharing her story on social media (her Instagram and TikTok are followed by 2 million people from all parts of the world).
"Representation truly matters when it comes to healing. I needed that as I was recovering," she said, reflecting on the times when encouragement pulled her out of a dark period in her life. "Seeing other people with burns and living a good life gave me back hope that my future wasn't all lost."
