My Burnt Body Survived Pregnancy

With deep scars to 65 per cent of her body, new mum Bianca is overjoyed her tummy withstood the stretch

- Natalee Fuhrmann

Gazing proudly at the cherubic face of her perfectly formed 3-monthold son, Bianca Aravena knows she’s a lucky, lucky woman.

After trying for two years to become a mum, the 33-year-old is relishing her new role, despite the long days and constant sleeplessness.

But while Kylo’s healthy arrival is a source of amazement for Bianca and husband Troy Hopkins, 32, so was the journey to his birth, after a life-threatening event 19 years ago.

Hanging with friends in a local park, the then 14-year-old came across her old boyfriend, who was fooling around with mates and an ice-cream container full of fuel. He lit the accelerant then kicked it Bianca’s direction, setting off a chain of events that would literally scar the teenager forever.

“I was so shocked and terrified at being on fire, I ran blindly straight through the wooden fence of one of the properties that backed onto the park,” recalls Bianca.

In the hospital, doctors estimated about 65 per cent of her skin had melted, which was most of the right-hand side of her body, despite first-aid from friends and bystanders.