Burns survivor Turia Pitt has opened up about parenting her two young sons alone for six months last year, after her partner went to work in another state with just a few days’ notice.
The 34-year-old – who was caught in a grassfire in 2011 and sustained burns to 65 per cent of her body – wrote on her blog that the support of her partner Michael Hoskin in the wake of the incident left her unsure if she could exist without him.
And then, “about seven months ago, Michael got a job as a helicopter pilot in Queensland”.
“He got the job on the Tuesday, and by the following Friday, he was in Cairns. I stayed at home with the two boys. For six months,” she wrote.
While Pitt “was lucky” and had the help of family, babysitters and childcare, “there was just me” when her youngest son was teething or eldest threw a tantrum.
“I am genuinely stoked for Michael. He’s an incredible man, a brilliant, kind and doting father and it is truly EPIC to see him pursuing his dream career as a helicopter pilot,” she wrote.
“I am beyond proud of him. It’s incredible what he’s achieved. And, I’m beyond proud of me too.
“See, for so long, Michael’s been my cocoon, my safe space. We’ve been together since 2010. And he’s been with me through every surgery, every long night, every dark time and every good time too. He’s so present that, over the years, I’d come to believe that I wouldn’t be able to survive without him around.
“So I’ve found the past six months of solo parenting challenging and relentless, but also really bloody empowering. I can do it. I did do it.”
Hoskin was inspired to become a helicopter pilot was sparked by Pitt’s incredible rescue, with a helicopter arriving just in time as she lay in the sun, her skin badly burned.
“I’d like to think it was the dramatic role [the pilot] played in evacuating me that inspired him, or maybe he’s just living out every man’s wildest dream,” Pitt said.
“Whatever it is, I’m of course going to take credit!”
Last year, marking the 10-year anniversary of the accident, Pitt wrote on her Instagram that her thoughts turned to Hoskin while she lay fighting for survival.
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“I remember thinking about Michael, my Michael,” she said.
“I remember telling myself, ‘Think of his warm face, think of his honey voice, think of his golden skin. Keep thinking about Michael’.”
The couple, who have been engaged since 2015 and known each other since high school, welcomed their second son Rahiti in 2020, two years after other son Hakavai was born.
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