Since her first blog post in 2005, Stephanie Nielson’s uplifting, humorous stories inspired people across the country. Now, fans of her blog, the NieNie Dialogues, have another reason to admire this dedicated LDS wife and mother of four.
On August 16, 2008, Stephanie and her husband, Christian, were flying across Arizona when the small plane they were on crashed into the desert, exploding on impact. When flames engulfed the plane, Christian was burned on his face and neck, but Stephanie suffered severe burns on more than 80 percent of her body. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and for the next 10 weeks, she was kept in a medically induced coma while her burns were treated. The doctors knew they could save her life, but no one knew what sort of life it would be.
After the crash, fellow bloggers rallied to raise funds to help Stephanie. Her story was picked up by the New York Times and the “Today” show. Tens of thousands of readers found Stephanie’s blog, and read daily updates posted by a sister while Stephanie healed. In January 2009, Stephanie began writing again about becoming a new kind of mom — a job that was difficult, but beautiful to her.
“This is my new life, and it is good — oh, so good.”
This short video has already achieved ’viral’ status, having been viewed more than 11 million times on the Church’s Mormon Messages YouTube channel. Two days after its release, viewership of “My New Life” reached such levels that it appeared on the YouTube homepage and became the number one video in the Nonprofits category.
You can learn more about Stephanie Nielson’s journey from a number of sources, including Oprah’s website, ArizonaCentral.com, and her own blog, the NieNie Dialogues.
I love that video! What an amazing woman and how inspiring she is to all of us mothers. This is a video that needs to go out to all-especially mothers who deal with monotony and frustration that comes standard when being a mother. After seeing this beautiful video, I remember how blessed I am and want to be a better mother. Thank you for sharing such touching videos on your blog. You never fail to create a quality product (your blog like your family letters are so nicely put together)!