Woman, 24, whose face was burned in fire ‘fears boyfriend will leave’ – World News

Sólrún Waldorff was staying at her boyfriend’s apartment when a cooking accident caused a fire to spread throughout the property, trapping the couple in a basement bedroom

A woman whose face was burned in a terrible fire that ripped through her boyfriend’s apartment was afraid he would dump her when he finally saw her scars.

Sólrún Waldorff, 24, was staying with her boyfriend in October 2019 when a fire caused by a cooking accident trapped the couple inside.

Her friend Rahmon Anvarov was quickly rescued by firefighters, but they were unaware that Sólrún was also at the property until they conducted a second search.

She fell into a coma for a month and was flown to a Swedish hospital for treatment, which required skin grafts and complex surgeries while suffering from severe lung problems.

Recalling the horrific ordeal on October 23, 2019, Sólrún from Reykjavik, Iceland said: “My friend rented a room and I stayed overnight.

“While we were sleeping, the landlord came home and started cooking with oil. For some reason the oil caught fire.

“There were no fire extinguishers so he grabbed the pot and tried to run outside with it. But right outside the front door, he dropped the pot and the fire spread extremely quickly throughout the house.

“We were in the basement room so the front door would have been our only exit. We woke up and opened the bedroom door, saw the fire and panicked.”

She continued: “There was a window onto a patio in the room which my friend tried to break in with an office chair. But there was so much smoke and we were very weak.

“I think we passed out very quickly. From what I’m told, the firefighters arrived five minutes later and were able to smash the window.

“They found my friend on the floor and were able to drag him out. But because I didn’t live there, they didn’t know there would be another person in the room.”

While getting the fire under control, firefighters accidentally found Sólrún under her friend’s bed and were able to pull her out as well.

A month later she woke up in Sweden with “all kinds of drugs” with tubes down her throat and in so much pain because her muscles were deteriorating that she could hardly move.

“My family was there, they kept telling me that I had an accident but that everything would be fine,” she added.

After weeks of learning to walk, surgeries and rehabilitation, it was finally time for Sólrún to be reunited with her boyfriend Rahmon after two long months – who had burned his arms, chest and back.

Though the psychology grad was afraid her 30-year-old partner would leave her once he saw her burns, loyal Rahmon has proved her wrong – he’s stuck by her side ever since.

Despite facing insults and horrific comments while adjusting to her new look, Sólrún is doing her best to lead a normal life.

She said: “I didn’t see my boyfriend until I came back to Iceland. I was nervous that he would see me again.

“He didn’t want to see pictures of me while I was away. He wanted to see me when I came back. I felt a lot of pressure because I wanted to make it easier for him to get started and be prepared.

“I’ve spent a lot of time worrying that this might be too much. Not only did I not look the same at all, I had limited skills and needed help with everything.

“I was worried that he wouldn’t want to be with me anymore. When I came back to Iceland he was just wonderful and understanding. He completely disproved my worries.”

She added: “I realize this is an irrational fear on my part and he never showed me or did anything to make me believe he was going to leave.

“But I’ve been in touch with other burn survivors and you’re hearing stories. I know a woman who said her husband didn’t even visit her when she was in the hospital and he just left.

“You hear these horrible stories and you realize that people can be like that. That worries you.

“I worry that he will leave me. We talked about it a lot and it was really reassuring.

“I figured the accident would either break us up or make us a stronger couple. It definitely made us a stronger couple.

“My lungs are very weak but he will be so patient with me. We used to train together but I can’t do it the way I used to.”

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