Stephanie is from Toulouse, France. In the summer of 2015, Stephanie was meeting a friend for lunch; her friend arrived late and their reservation was denied. They went to an alternate restaurant, which was also full. As they were leaving, a waiter ran to them and let them know a table had become available in the buffet section. They agreed that they would stay and partake in the buffet. As Stephanie was getting in line for the buffet, the man in front of her insisted that she go in front of him - she obliged. As she was serving herself food, the food warmer exploded right in front of her. She was splashed with chemicals on her skin, from the Sterno that was keeping the food warm,  and immediately engulfed in flames. Stephanie explained that everything happened so quickly, but also in slow motion. It also took several moments for her to realize what had happened to her. In efforts to put out the flames, she patted herself, which caused to her hands and arms to be burned. Her friend tore her top off to keep the flames at bay. She then realized that even though the flames were extinguished, her thighs still had the sensation of burning due to the chemicals. She stripped off her clothes, leaving her almost bare in front of the whole restaurant. The freak accident had only affected Stephanie, no one else was injured.

Stephanie was taken by helicopter to a hospital where she underwent skin grafting surgeries on her thighs and arms. She is burned on 20% of her body. In the hospital she had some of the best and worst experiences. She explained that part of her recovery treatments included debridement, which is when dead or severely burned skin is scraped off so new cells can grow (this would happen every two days in her case). She recalls there was a day when she was not provided with the proper pain medication and she felt an indescribable pain - this was the worst pain she had ever endured. Through all of the suffering, she also felt loved by her caregivers. 

In the hospital, Stephanie struggled with depression and PTSD, she thought she would never recover. One of the persistent thoughts that plagued her was knowing how her father must have felt when he perished in a fiery plane crash 13 years prior to her accident. She realized that she needed help and started working with a life coach. This helped her work through her trauma and be able to cultivate positive coping skills. Stephanie is now a certified life coach, specializing in trauma. She is a published author and has created the KAL Therapy model. KAL is an acronym for knowledge, awareness, and love. Through these three strengths, one can free oneself from suffering, develop a new self confidence and trust in life, and find fulfillment. You can find her book, "Un jour, Demain s'Arretera", on Amazon.  Stephanie has also created A Survivors Guide to Healing - Transform Your Scars, which can be downloaded for free from her website stephanieromeo.com 

During our interview, one thing that Stephanie said that stood out to me was "In scars, we can see courage, strength and resilience. In scars, we can witness the power of life." Stephanie has so much knowledge to share for anyone dealing with any kind of trauma - physical or emotional. She had dedicated her life to helping others.