Turia Pitt inspires audience
An enthralled Broome audience listened in awe last week to Turia Pitt's heartbreaking yet truly motivational story of tragedy and hope.
The brave former mining engineer and aspiring model suffered burns to over 70 per cent of her body in 2011 after being caught in a bushfire while participating in a Kimberley ultramarathon.
Ms Pitt told the 210-person audience at Cable Beach Resort and Spa about "the day that my life would change forever" and "screaming in terror" as she was engulfed in flames.
She spent a month in a coma and was forced to come to terms with her new disfigured appearance and having to wear a mask for two years.
The audience listened intently as Ms Pitt spoke of her attempts to learn to walk and talk again, the frustration of not being able to bend her arms due to her elbows ossifying, and her daily agony of dreaded bandage changes.
However, despite admitting to feeling suicidal at times during her rehabilitation, Ms Pitt's never-give-up attitude left the Broome audience visibly inspired.
She revealed how she was back running again only a year after sustaining her injuries, which was treated with rapturous applause.
Ms Pitt completed the Lake Argyle Swim recently and spoke of her plan to complete a section of the Great Wall of China.
The message that she wanted to relay to Broome's audience was that a normal person could achieve something extraordinary through sheer resolve.
"People live with years and years of negative conditioning, making excuses to avoid hard work," Ms Pitt said.
"We need to learn to open ourselves to change, challenges and new experiences. Only with experience and change can we grow and learn and really live.
"All you have to do is decide what you want and never ever give up. The good news is that you don't have to wait for something bad to happen to discover just how brilliant you truly are."
Ms Pitt said she had decided to take the positives from what happened and she learnt a lot about herself in the process.
"It has been an incredible journey, one that I didn't ask for but one that I have made the decision to embrace," she said.
"Giving up was never really an option for me. It has been challenging, tough, heartbreaking, surprising and, you know what, truly beautiful.
"Most importantly, I have learnt that we are all so much more powerful and much stronger than we could ever know."
