In March 2007, 17-year-old Ni Na Phung was approached and asked out on a date by a 21-year-old would-be suitor during her friend’s birthday party. Ni Na is from the city of Da Nang, Vietnam near the Marble Mountains. Aware that her family was opposed to dating, Ni Na refused to go out with the suitor, not wanting to dishonor her parents.

Following the party, as she and her cousin took an afternoon nap; the rejected suitor doused Ni Na with gasoline and lit her on fire. She was rushed to Da Nang hospital with third degree burns over 75% of her body. Miraculously, she lived. But after three months in the hospital and far from healed, Ni Na was forced to go home when her family could no longer afford to pay for medical treatment.

Ni Na’s father earns approximately $300 a year working in the rice fields, and so her family resorted to medically treating Ni Na themselves. The lack of proper treatment caused the wounds around her neck, mouth, armpits and elbows to tightly constrict her skin – limiting her mobility.

Ni Na has struggled with sadness since the attack. Just as her faith was almost gone, Ni Na learned that the Children’s Burn Foundation would bring her and her mother to Los Angeles for state-of-the-art-burn care.

The Foundation arranged for Ni Na to be treated by world-renowned doctors at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital. The Foundation’s staff has also arranged transportation, housing, community support and all of the assistance required to meet her needs during the 12-18 months that she and her mother are expected to stay in Los Angeles.

When Ni Na was told the good news, her first response was “Mother, do you think you could buy me new clothes when we go to the U.S.?” Now Ni Na dreams of one day walking again, going out with friends and meeting Good Morning Vietnam star Robin Williams. Ni Na’s family is overjoyed that her spark for life is back.

Since her arrival in October 28, 2008, Ni Na has undergone several reconstructive surgeries to begin addressing her limited mobility. Ni Na is currently attending physical therapy sessions three times a week at a facility near home.

With the help of Ni Na’s Vietnamese-American host family, Ni Na and her mother are adjusting to life in the US. Ni Na has once again begun to laugh and smile.

Note: Ni Na’s attacker was sentenced to 16 years in jail for his crime.