Kim Phuc Phan Thai was only 9 years-old when she ran away from a devastating napalm bomb and suffered suffered third degree burns all over her body during the Vietnam War.

Today, Kim Phuc, 46, is now a a public speaker, peace activist, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, child welfare advocate, married mother of two, and inspiration to burn injury survivors worldwide.

“Sixty-five percent of my body got burned, I should be dead,”,  Kim Phuc said in an interview with HealthDay. Phuc suffered third degree burns that sheared skin from her back and left arm, leaving permanent scars and recurring pain.

“But I was spared,” she continues. “So now I think, ‘I cannot change something that happened to me already. But I can change the meaning.’”

Phuc spent 14 months in a burn unit and underwent 17 operations.

“The pain I consider as my protection. It humbles me, and helps me to never take my life for granted,” she said. “And to share my story.”

The iconic photograph shown above was taken by Associated Press Nick Ut.