EXCLUSIVE: Turia Pitt's story of survival after being horrifically burned when she was caught in a bushfire has inspired Australia. Now meet the little boy SHE calls a hero

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This eighteen-month-old boy pulled a rice-cooker brimming with boiling water down on his head, burning deep scars into his face and leaving him almost blind.

As a crack team of surgeons from the Australian charity, Interplast, worked last March to save the sight of little baby Seng, from Vientiane, Laos, inspirational burns survivor Turia Pitt watched on. 

Turia was deeply moved by the plight of the baby with big, brown eyes. That's because she knows that if she lived in a country like Seng's, she wouldn't be here. 

Foreign doctors wouldn't have been able to save her from the flames that nearly killed her by lashing 64 per cent of her body with burns in 2011. 

'I wouldn't have survived,' she said during a candid interview ahead of hosting a fundraising gala on Thursday which aims to raise funds for more volunteer medicos to head overseas to save lives and livelihoods. 

'If I was from Laos or Bangladesh, no ifs or buts, 100 per cent I would have died.' 

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Stronger than ever and inspired by a little burned baby: Turia Pitt (pictured), who experienced burns to 64 per cent of her body during a September 2011 ultramarathon through the Kimberley, Western Australia

Burned by boiling water: Little baby Seng (left) is pictured being operated upon by surgeons in Laos (right) in a desperate attempt to save his sight. Turia Pitt witnessed the operation

Seng's sight was saved by keen doctor volunteers from Interplast. Turia told Daily Mail Australia Seng was 'for sure' one of her inspirations in working for Interplast

Fitter and stronger than ever: Turia Pitt's recovery from the horrific burns that left her clinging to life is inspirational. She recently ran a half-marathon and beat the time she ran before the 2011 Kimberley blaze

Turia, who has been operated on more than 200 times since she was caught in the flames, believes Australians take their medical system for granted.

Her remarkable recovery is a case-in-point. 

Few would have thought she would be more athletic now than she was before she was seared with burns while running the Kimberley ultra-marathon three-and-a-half-years ago.

'I'm fitter now than I was before!' Turia told Daily Mail Australia.

Nervous about medical complications, Turia was 'dumbfounded' when she ran a half-marathon last month at a quicker pace (1hr 45mins) than her time before she was burned (1hr 50mins). 

The only difference was that she needed to douse herself in water every 5km, as her skin has lost the ability to keep her temperature stable. 

'Maybe I've got something to prove... I think I am more motivated'

Asked about what motivates her to keep so fit, she told Daily Mail Australia there are bigger obstacles in life than running a marathon.

'Maybe I've got something to prove.... I think I am more motivated,' she said, revealing her intense, six-day-a-week training regimen. She is hoping to compete in the 2016 Melbourne Ironman.  

'Compared to what I've been through, things like doing a marathon are rather minor by comparison.' 

There were many dark moments during her recovery, she said - ones that required her to draw upon not only her own strength, but that of others.

Turia experienced many dark moments during her recovery that required her to draw upon not only her own strength, but others as well

Her partner Michael Hoskin (left, pictured during a hike recently) has been Turia's most steadfast supporter throughout the entire ordeal

On Thursday, Turia will hold a gala to raise funds for the same charity that saved Seng's sight, Interplast. She will also provide an update on how Seng is progressing

'There were terrible moments when I just wanted to give up,' she said. 

Not self-conscious: Turia Pitt has always taken pride in her appearance

Only recently she had a scare on the operating table when she stopped breathing while surgeons were attempting to install her new nose, terrifying her partner, Michael Hoskin, and mother Celestine Vaite, who been by her side throughout the entire journey.

'I guess I was really blessed because I was surrounded by a really good support team, my partner (Michael), my family, my friends, the doctors, the nurses, even my local community of Ulladulla.

'In those really hard times I did draw strength from the people around me'.  

Given the nature of her work with Interplast, appearance was another topic Turia dwelled upon while talking to Daily Mail Australia. 

She said she has always taken pride in her appearance, which hasn't changed. The burns don't concern her - instead, they are something she is accustomed to. 

'Let's say you're at a party and you're self conscious and you think your arse looks big,' Turia said. 

'Every time someone looks at you, you going to think, "they're thinking my arse looks big".

'But if you aren't really thinking that at all, you won't see it. 

'I'm not looking for people who are looking at me. 

'But then, if I was really self-conscious, I'd probably notice it a lot more - because I'm sure there are people who do look at me.'

Years after the disaster, life is something close to normal now for Turia, who lives life according to a simple creed. 

'All I do is wake up and try and get the most out of each day,' she said. 

'And that's kind of what I've always done.'

As for baby Seng, it is understood his big, brown eyes can see again - perhaps allowing him to live a life with the same clarity of purpose as Turia. 

'All I do is wake up and try and get the most out of each day,' Turia Pitt told Daily Mail Australia. That is the simple creed by which she lives her life