She opened up about her journey.

Sadly, Crystal fell back into drinking and drug use as a coping mechanism – but it was a childhood friend who reached out to her years down the line that changed her life.

Crystal would often call this friend in the middle of the night to ‘unload her trauma’, but one day he got sick of it and gave her an ultimatum.

Watch Crystal’s full Minutes With episode below:

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The ultimatum that would change Crystal’s life
After buying her a plane ticket in October 2022, he said to her: “If you do not get on the plane, I cannot afford to get a new one, and I don’t wanna hear from you again. If you don’t get on this flight, just don’t call me anymore.”

Crystal got on the plane, and though it wasn’t easy, she’s now been 41 months sober.

“It’s taken a lot of coaching, coaching myself, but I really do love myself these days,” she said of her sobriety when asked about her feelings of self-worth.

“I’m glad that you asked that because part of my recovery too I look at myself in the mirror, in the eyes, in the morning. And I am the first person that I tell, I love you, Crystal.”

She added: “A lot of people when asked about my fire, my burn injury, scars, whatever, most of them, they expect it to be like a more honorable way that it happened. They’re not ready for the answer.

“I have really been working on sharing my story more with the world to honor the little girl inside of me that survived and experienced it all, and to show people that beautiful things can come from our darkest moments, and you are not too far gone.”

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.

Or if you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.