The last memories Stephanie Browitt has of her sister, Krystal, are of the animal-loving 21-year-old taking photographs on Whakaari/White Island.
With their dad, Paul, they were visiting the volcanic island in New Zealand, and Krystal was mesmerised.
“It was unlike anything we’d seen – desolate and grey and there were no sounds of life. When we looked out to the ocean, there was nothing around us,” Stephanie tells New Idea.
On December 9, 2019, Stephanie and Krystal were on a cruise with Paul and their mum, Marie. That day, Marie stayed on the ship while her daughters and husband travelled to White Island.
“A brochure offering the trip was left in our cabin and we thought, when would we get the chance to do something like that again?” says Stephanie, now 29.
“Krystal and I had a busy year. I was studying acting and working part-time, and Krystal was training to be a veterinary nurse. The cruise was a chance for us to be together.”
But just half an hour after they arrived, the volcano erupted, unleashing a pyroclastic blast. Searing ash, gas and rocks rained down on the tour group.
“We saw smoke coming from the crater and then the guide yelled ‘run’. Within seconds, we were knocked off our feet. It was pitch black and my skin was burning,” remembers Stephanie.
Time passed agonisingly slowly as Stephanie lay in darkness with third-degree burns covering 70 per cent of her body. She couldn’t see Krystal or Paul.
“But I could hear Dad calling me, so I knew he was nearby,” she says.
“He was calling my name to make sure I was awake, because I needed to stay awake to stay alive.”
Sadly, Krystal died and Paul later succumbed to his injuries. They were two of 22 victims of the White Island tragedy.
As Stephanie underwent multiple surgeries and skin grafts in hospital, Marie had to tell her that the sister and father she idolised were gone.
Despite overwhelming grief, giving up was not an option for Stephanie, who has just published a memoir about her fight for survival. Titled Out of the Ashes, she co-wrote it with Marie and journalist Sue Smethurst.
“[Never giving up] was our family motto and Mum reminded me every day. She told me how much Dad and Krystal would want me to recover and do well in my life,” Stephanie shares.
This determination saw Stephanie leave the hospital to attend Paul and Krystal’s funerals.
She had also said a private farewell to her sister the day before.
“[Krystal] was wearing the ring I’d given her for her 21st birthday. I placed my hand – with its scars and missing fingers – inside Krystal’s. I told her how much I loved her and how loved she was, how much we missed her and always would,” Stephanie tells us.
Throughout it all, Marie remained by Stephanie’s side.
“None of us can understand how huge an effort it was for her to get there – physically, psychologically and spiritually – but there she was. My girl wasn’t going to let her daddy or her baby sister down,” Marie says in the book.
She adds that every night she wanted her voice to be the last thing Stephanie heard before she went to sleep, reminding her to “never stop fighting”.
“During moments when I thought, ‘why am I here when my sister and dad aren’t?’ I thought of Mum. I knew I couldn’t leave her on her own,” Stephanie says.
Five months after the tragedy, Stephanie returned home and began documenting her recovery on social media. She is now a respected public speaker and honours her loved ones by living life to the fullest.
“I want a family and to create the special moments my parents made for Krystal and me,” she says. “I’ve learnt to tell the people you love how much you care about them and to make time for them, because tomorrow isn’t promised.”
