My DIY sauna left my skin hanging off after explosion turned me into a fireball – I was stunned when I removed bandages

KATJA Grosse was preparing her domed-shaped ‘sweat lodge’ early one morning in preparation for a meditation session with a group of friends when suddenly her life changed forever. Lighting the gas burning stove which powered up the underground sauna, built in the grounds of her home, she carried out some chores and returned a few minutes later to find the flames had gone out. Katja Grosse, 41, was preparing her domed-shaped ‘sweat lodge’ early one morning when her life changed forever Credit: Supplied Katja’s underground sauna in Western Australia Credit: Supplied Katja tells how she went to grab the lighter to get it going again. “As I re-entered the space and flicked the lighter button with my finger, a violent flash blinded me,” she says. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! “And suddenly, I was completely engulfed in fire. “I froze instinctively, holding my breath and closing my eyes, as I was immersed in the inferno.” The DIY sauna after the freak accident Credit: Supplied Following the incident, medics removed singed skin from her front and back torso, arms and legs Credit: that's life! magazine The 41-year-old, from Albany, Western Australia, had been unaware a gas bottle connected to her sauna was leaking, creating an invisible ticking time bomb. Dropping to all fours when her sauna ignited last November, she was able to feel her way back to the entrance, gasping for air as she desperately tried to escape the blaze. Up until this point, Katja had no idea how badly she had been hurt. “Adrenaline rushed through me as I opened my eyes to a horrific sight,” she says. Most read in Fabulous “My skin was bubbling up and hanging off my arms, hands and legs. “I frantically stripped off my clothes, trying to stop the material from melting into my wounds and stood there naked, as my raw skin oozed puss and my charred hair disintegrated in my hands.” As she realised how serious her burns were, Katja rushed inside to call her friend Andrew, who raced over and told her to dowse herself with cold water. “I summoned all my strength to step into the cold shower,” she says. “Full of adrenaline, I felt no pain and could barely even feel the water on my skin.” Andrew raced Katja, who was wrapped in a towel, to Albany Hospital in a 15-minute drive, where medics removed singed skin from her front and back torso, arms and legs. When Katja got a chance to look in the mirror, she was met with a gruesome sight, she says Credit: Supplied The 41-year-old three weeks after being discharged from the hospital Credit: Supplied “When I got a chance to look in the mirror, I was met with a gruesome sight,” she says. “My face was blackened, my eyebrows burnt off and my dark hair fried short. “I was bandaged in thick layers and escorted to a helicopter where I was flown to the burns unit. There, the full extent of what had happened hit me.” Katja was treated at Fiona Stanley Hospital, near Western Australia’s capital Perth, with her partner Louis, 71, rushing to her bedside. She learned she had suffered full thickness burns on up to 50 percent of her body, with advanced skin grafts and spray-on skin cell treatment needed. Katja’s surgeon told her she would likely need to stay in hospital for three months but she vowed to make it out sooner. “As I awaited surgery, I meditated daily to keep myself calm,” she says. “Three days later, I had a skin graft op, which took six hours.“I woke wrapped head to toe in bandages, hardly able to see out of the holes left for my eyes but I felt at peace, remaining self-assured in my body’s ability to heal.” Katja jokes that she looked “like a mummy” as she recovered from her ordeal but admits it was a painful time. “Shower time was the worst,” she says. “Under the cold water, it felt as if I was being pricked with a thousand sharp needles. But with calming music, I made it through.” Katja used yoga to strengthen her body and asked her partner to bring her fresh fruit and vegetables to aid her recovery. She even encouraged her nurses to dance with her at nighttime, to keep everyone’s spirits high. “Each check-up, I was healing more,” she recalls. “Within two weeks, my facial bandages came off and underneath my skin looked brand new.“‘I’m glowing!’, I thought in wonder.” Katja made it home just 19 days after her accident and six months on, she wears compression bandages and stays out of the sun to protect her skin. “It’s a small price to pay for what I see as a miracle,” she says. “What happened to me was a valuable lesson in the power of patience and trust and in the resilience of the human body.” “To anyone facing sudden hardship, my message to you is simple,” adds the spiritual survivor. Believe in the power of you and love. “There is always light after the storm.” Visit Katja’s GoFundMe and ollow her journey on Instagram: @loolooloo_blue_whale_dreaming. Comment now