Whakaari/White Island survivor shares progress online

Kelsey Waghorn has shared her progress as she recovers from the Whakaari / White Island eruption. Photo / File

More than two months after WhakaarI/White Island blew, survivor Kelsey Waghorn is celebrating the "little victories" in her recovery.

The tour guide, who suffered burns to 45 per cent of her body, shared a picture showing the remarkable transformation of her right hand in just a few short months.

On the left is her hand pictured on Christmas Day - tightly bandaged and pale, with blackened fingernails and cracked skin.

But only eight weeks later the bandages are gone. the cracks have healed and her skin is flushed with colour.

"...although it doesn't look like it on the right there, these mits are looking significantly more 'skin coloured' every week," she captioned the post.

As her hand has healed, it's become less "crazy sensitive", meaning she can get back to the important things - like patting dogs.

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Christmas Day vs Thursday just been (February 27th) although it doesn’t look like it on the right there, these mits are looking significantly more “skin coloured” every week. they still require moisturising every 0.2 seconds, massaging to stop scar tissue contraction and the oils are still working out where the exit is, but they’re finally becoming less crazy-sensitive, which is allowing me to do more for myself - more importantly, pat dogs 🥳 celebrate the little victories 🍀

A post shared by Kelsey Waghorn (@kezzelsify) on Feb 29, 2020 at 9:37pm PST

"They still require moisturising every 0.2 seconds, massaging to stop scar tissue contraction and the oils are still working out where the exit is, but they're finally becoming less crazy-sensitive, which is allowing me to do more for myself - more importantly, pat dogs," she said.

The 25-year-old has continued to recover in the wake of the tragedy that killed 21 people.

"I'm covered in scars and relocated skin, and that's okay with me," she wrote in a recent update.

"I am slowly regaining the use of both of my hands - my right is worse than my left. But I'm working on that every day.

"Everything is healing twice as fast as anyone predicted, and although I have my moments, I am proud of the huge progress I have made."

Waghorn told The Rock she burst into tears when she saw that thousands of dollars had been donated towards her recovery.

"I cried my eyes out when I saw it," Waghorn said.

Donations to her Givealittle page have soared past $114,000.

Recently, she shared a video of her learning to walk again, aided by a walking frame.

"When they told me 'you'll have to learn to walk again' I almost scoffed," she captioned the post.

"'I've been walking 20 something years, thank you, my body and I have got this. We might be weak and small at the moment, but once that strength comes back, no 'learning' will be required.

"Boy was I wrong."

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when they told me “you’ll have to learn to walk again” I almost scoffed. “I’ve been walking 20something years, thank you, my body and I have got this. we might be weak and small at the moment, but once that strength comes back, no ‘learning’ will be required.” boy was I wrong. I literally had to teach my body to walk again. “lift and bend knee, shift weight forward, lift toes, place heel, place toes - don’t forget that you have an ankle and can bend that too” if you’ve had skin grafts to your extremities (or even if you’ve been in bed 20something days), when your blood vessels all of a sudden have to increase that blood pressure as you go from horizontal to (semi)vertical, they don’t tend to keep up initially - cue the plum-purple hands and feet. “zombie arms” I used to call them. nowadays, my skin stays that pink-white I got mocked for in high school, and I couldn’t be happier.

A post shared by Kelsey Waghorn (@kezzelsify) on Feb 24, 2020 at 8:06pm PST

Waghorn spent 10 days in ICU, five of those in an induced coma after the island erupted on December 9.

She's has undergone more than a dozen surgeries, with skin grafts to her arms, legs, hands and lower back, with some touch ups on her upper arms.

"Once again, thank you thank you thank you to everyone for their donations, their kind words, their time and hard work," she wrote on her Givealittle page.

"I wouldn't be here without you."