Kim Phuc was bitter and full of hatred for 10 years after the napalm bombs were dropped on the Vietnamese temple where she was taking refuge with her family. Covered by scars on over 65% of her body, she was in terrible pain and believed no one could love her. “I had a lot of physical and emotional pain,” she says. She finally found “peace and joy” at the age of 19 when she converted to Christianity. “It changed my life. My heart healed,” states Phuc, who is now 54. Over the last two decades, Phuc has been travelling the world to tell her story of hope. The emotional scars healed decades ago. The physical scars are healing now as she undergoes laser treatments. Her conversion to Christianity was only the first step to healing for her. She converted during a difficult period when the Vietnamese government made her quit medical school to give media interviews. This nearly ended a dream she had since shortly after the attack – to be a doctor. She was always grateful to the doctors and nurses that helped her through 14 months of agonizing treatments, some of which were so painful she passed out during them. “They were there every moment I needed them,” she says. “I said, ‘OK. I want to be like them.’ I can help myself and another who needs help just like me.” After leaving the hospital, she went back to her village to find it was nearly completely destroyed.
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