An Aussie mum who spent almost a decade recovering from horrific burns has just celebrated her first Mother’s Day with her bundle of joy.
An incident at a birthday party 10 years ago turned Charlotte Brown’s life upside down.
A fire from a tabletop ethanol burner torched more than 30 per cent of her body.
Ms Brown was left with such terrible burns that she spent more than five weeks in an induced coma at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Charlotte Brown and her husband Andrew welcomed their first child, Edith, in March
She spent her twenties learning to independently breathe, walk and talk again.
Her husband Andrew also sustained severe burns in the blaze.
The couple were both in hospital at the same time and supported each other through their darkest days.
They wanted to start a family but faced concerns over how Ms Brown’s scarring would affect her pregnancy.
Thankfully, the pair welcomed their first child Edith in March.
‘I was 22 when the accident happened and was put in an induced coma for five-and-a-half weeks, which saw most of my body, apart from my legs, grafted with unburnt skin,’ Ms Brown said.
‘It has challenged every part of me physically and mentally but I have become more resilient and capable than ever.
‘I’ve had an exciting career so far, I’m married to my wonderful husband, we have the best friends and families, two lovely dogs and now our first baby.’
A fire from a tabletop ethanol burner torched more than 30 percent of Ms Brown’s body
The new mum said she was so thankful to all the doctors and nurses who guided her through her pregnancy and birth.
‘We kind of had to just see how it went,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The heat of the Brisbane summer really affected me with so much scarring because I can’t thermoregulate my body properly.
‘There was a small amount of scarring on my belly that got very tight towards the end of my pregnancy.
‘I had to monitor everything very closely.’
Ms Brown spent three months in hospital recovering after her accident, followed by two years of rehabilitation.
She had lots of physiotherapy to regain movement and elasticity in the skin.
The new mum said she was ‘absolutely loving motherhood’.
‘It is a rollercoaster, like the burns rehab journey… You have good days and bad days but they all count in the end,’ she said.
‘I’m learning so much along the way and taking in all of the joyful moments with Edith and my family’.
The new mum said she was ‘absolutely loving motherhood’
Now 32, Ms Brown is a communications advisor and advocate for initiatives that educate and empower survivors so they can thrive and achieve the things they really want – ‘like starting a family’.
‘Beyond the years of physical therapy, the psychological and social journey you undertake as a burns survivor also takes a very long time,’ she said.
‘Learning to love yourself again and draw strength from what you’ve been through is tough but absolutely possible – there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
‘I want to show women with scarring and/or burns that it’s possible to have a happy, healthy life.’
Ms Brown and her husband founded Burnslife, a non-profit arm of the RBWH Foundation, to provide psycho-social support to burns victims and their carers.
She is also a co-chair of the Australia New Zealand Burns Association’s national Consumer Advisory Group.