Today on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN) series People Crime, a young mother named Courtney Waldon tells of the horror moment her husband accidentally set her on fire.
Courtney recalls sitting by a campfire on September 30, 2016, cooking dinner.
Then the unimaginable. Her husband of two months relit the waning flames as he swung a can of gasoline towards them.
The stream of fire shooting from this covered her entire body.
She was engulfed in flames and Courtney, of Tallapoosa, Georgia, said: “I thought I was dying.”
Suffering fourth and third-degree burns and in a coma for a month, Courtney, who has a five-year-old daughter Caroline, survived solely because of the proximity of her home to a hospital.
But once she finally came home after 51 days, her husband left her after two weeks.
She said: “Two weeks after being home from the hospital my husband left us. He said he couldn’t handle or deal with me any longer.”
Courtney tries to stay positive and has had over 20 surgeries since the incident.
Courtney now wants to counsel other traumatic injury victims through the shock of their own life-altering events.
The People Crime episode also looks at how her community has rallied around Courtney and her daughter to help them get back on their feet.
The free-streaming People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN) launched the series this month.
It covers stories with extensive investigative reporting, exclusive access and insider knowledge.
This episode is available now. To view, go to PEOPLE.com/PEN or download the PEN app on connected-TV devices.