She spent 51 days in the hospital and underwent 20 surgeries.
The husband of a Georgia woman who suffered severe burns across her body after he accidentally set her on fire has left her.
Read: Pregnant Woman Gives Birth After Boyfriend Allegedly Set Her on Fire
In September 2016, two months after they married, Courtney Waldon and her husband, Mitch, were sitting by a campfire. When the fire began dying, Mitch decided to throw gasoline on it.
The decision proved to be a painful one, as Courtney was set ablaze.
“Fire hit me in my face, hands,” she told Inside Edition a year after the incident.
“It was stupid on my part — I put gasoline on the fire and it exploded,” he told the 911 operator when he called for help.
His 27-year-old bride was rushed to the hospital with severe burns all over her face and 40 percent of her body. She spent 51 days in the hospital and underwent 20 surgeries.
As $2 million in medical bills mounted in the weeks following her release from the hospital, Courtney said she was completely blindsided when her husband left her.
“He said he couldn’t handle me and left,” she claimed. “Even though it was an accident I have yet to receive, 'I’m sorry, I changed your life within a few seconds.'"
Inside Edition caught up with Mitch, who said he didn’t know what to apologize for.
"It was an accident," he said.
Courtney says her husband left because he couldn’t deal with her injuries. He claims it was because she threatened to shoot him.
"She said, 'I’ll shoot you right now,'" he claims.
She says that never happened and she is now focused on undergoing physical therapy to regain movement in her burnt fingers.
She's moved back home with her parents and sister outside Atlanta.
Her 5-year-old daughter, Caroline, is also helping with her mother's healing process.
Now, Courtney’s neighbors are pitching in to build her a new house.
“They're building it free for me and my daughter,” she said with delight.
It will be a new beginning for a young woman who has endured so much.
“I still see me when I look in the mirror,” she said. “I know deep down I am still as beautiful as I was before.”
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