Stuart Diver doesn’t believe in miracles in the traditional sense, but the arrival of baby Alessia has come close to changing his mind. The Thredbo landslide survivor opens up about his own little “miracle”.
It almost crushed Stuart Diver’s indomitable spirit when his second wife Rosanna Cossettini was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer just three weeks after they tied the knot in the Snowy Mountains in NSW.
“I really did think it was unfair,” admits Stuart, who inspired Australia with his courage when he was buried alive in the 1997 Thredbo landslide disaster that took the life of his first wife Sally, and 17 of their friends and neighbours when he was just 27.
“I went through all these emotions,” he says. “I thought is Rosanna going to die? It made me doubt a lot of things. Why me – again? It was a big blow, but it made our relationship unbelievably strong.”
His love for Rosanna inspired hope in them both and the newlyweds launched a desperate fight to save her life. Meanwhile, though, the pair had to contend with devastating medical advice that Rosanna would probably never conceive.
“I was told by many specialists that I couldn’t have children,” says Rosanna, whose face still fills with wonder when she nurses their baby girl, Alessia, who was conceived naturally after Rosanna’s recovery.
Related Video: Flashback: Relive the moment Stuart Diver was rescued.
