A woman whose face was burnt off in a horrific blaze which ripped through her boyfriend's flat was left terrified he would dump her when he finally saw her scars.
Sólrún Waldorff, 24, was staying at her boyfriend's place in October 2019 when a fire caused by a cooking accident trapped the couple inside.
Her boyfriend Rahmon Anvarov was rescued quickly by firefighters, but they were unaware that Sólrún was also in the property until they conducted a second search.
She fell into a coma for one month and was flown to a Swedish hospital for treatment where she requiring skin grafts and complex surgery while suffering from severe lung difficulties.
Recalling the horrifying ordeal from October 23, 2019, Sólrún, from Reykjavik, Iceland, said: "My boyfriend was renting a room and I was staying the night.
"While we slept, the landlord came home and started cooking with oil. For some reason, the oil caught fire.
"There were no fire extinguishers, so he took the pot and tried running with it outside. But right in front of 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 door to the bedroom, saw the fire and panicked."
She continued: "There was a window to a patio in the room that my boyfriend tried breaking 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've been told, the firefighters arrived five minutes later and they were able to break the window.
"They found my boyfriend on the floor and were able to drag him out. But because I didn't live there, they didn't know that there would be another person in the room."
When they got the blaze under control, firefighters found Sólrún by chance under boyfriend's bed and they were able to drag her out as well.
A month later, she woke up in Sweden on "all kinds of drugs" with tubes down her throat, and was in so much pain due to her muscles deteriorating that she could barely move.
"My family were there, they just kept telling me I'd been in an accident but that things would be fine", she added.
After weeks of learning to walk again, surgeries and rehabilitation, it was eventually time for Sólrún to be reunited with her boyfriend Rahmon - who was burnt on his arms, chest and back - after two long months apart.
Although the psychology graduate was terrified that her 30-year-old partner would leave her once he saw her burns, loyal Rahmon has proved her wrong - sticking by her side ever since.
Although she has faced abuse and horrible comments while adjusting to her new look, Sólrún is doing her best to live a normal life.
She said: "I didn't see my boyfriend until I came back to Iceland. I was nervous about him seeing me again.
"He didn't want to see any pictures of me whilst I was away. He wanted to see me when I came back. I felt a lot of pressure, because I wanted to ease him into it and be prepared.
"I did spend a lot of time worrying that this would be too much. Not only did I look nothing like I did before, I also had limited capabilities and needed help with everything.
"I was worried he wouldn't want to be with me anymore. When I got back to Iceland, he was nothing but wonderful and understanding. He totally proved my worries wrong."
She added: "I realise this is an irrational fear of mine, and he's never shown or done anything to make me believe he'd leave.
"But I've connected with other burn survivors and you hear stories. I know one woman who said her husband didn't even visit her while she was in the hospital and he just left.
"You hear these horrible stories and you realise people can be like that. It makes you worry.
"I do worry that he'll leave me. We've spoken a lot about it, and he's been really reassuring about it.
"I thought the accident would either break us or make us a stronger couple. It's definitely made us a stronger couple.
"My lungs are very weak, but he'll be so patient with me. We used to exercise together but I can't do that like I did before."
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