Courtney Waldon suffered a terrible accident. Two weeks later, her husband left.

Courtney Waldon suffered horrific burns. Then her husband walked out.

She begged him to stay, but with her face burned, he said he couldn’t “handle” her.

Last September, everything was looking good for Courtney Cosper Waldon. Waldon, from Georgia, had just got married, and was mother to a beautiful little girl, Caroline.

Then a campfire accident changed everything. Gasoline was poured onto the fire and it exploded towards her. She suffered third-degree burns across her face and 40 per cent of her body. She spent a month in a medically induced coma in hospital.

Two weeks later, her husband walked out. Waldon says it was “a slap in the face”.

“I tried and begged him to come back, my daughter didn't deserve it, but he just said he couldn't handle me,” she says in The Mirror.

"I went from being the very pretty girl, just married, had my life in order, to barely being able to dress myself and needing help for everything and having to learn how to do things over again.”

Waldon says she found it very hard to come to terms with what happened.

“The first time I saw myself in the mirror I got sick and almost passed out.”

When Waldon was released from hospital, she saw her daughter Caroline for the first time since the accident. The five-year-old was hesitant at first.

“Then when she heard my voice, she came over and gave me a hug,” Waldon remembers. “She's been amazing.”

Waldon was left unable to work, due to the severe injuries to her hands. With medical bills mounting, she and Caroline were forced to leave their home. She’s been having one surgery a month, each costing $11,000, and these are set to continue.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by her mother, Karen Cosper.

“She still has an incredible amount of itching and a long road ahead,” Cosper writes in the latest update.  “She is the strongest person I have ever known! Her spirits are great considering all she has gone through.”

Happily, the community of Tallapoosa, Georgia, has rallied around Waldon.

People have been volunteering materials and labour to build Waldon and her daughter a house.

Local pastor Jon Ellis is co-ordinating the building effort. Photos show the house almost completed.

Ellis describes Waldon as “a blessing”.

“She made the choice to be better, not bitter, and better we all will be as a result of her positive mentality and encouraging words,” he writes on Facebook. “What a great experience this is turning out to be.

“This is how Christianity is supposed to look.”

Waldon is grateful for all the support she has received.

“Every day I get more hopeful,” she adds. “I’m here for a reason.”