How Restaurant Owner Who Survived World’s Worst Tsunami Found ‘Strength’ to Help 100 Others, amid Her Trauma (Exclusive)

• Thuleewan “Kimmy” Boonyarattana escaped the devastating 2004 tsunami that ravaged Thailand's Phi Phil Islands and worked with other survivors to help over 100 people 

• "I could not leave the people and even children," she tells PEOPLE

• She was traumatized by the event but today feels "stronger"
  

Thai restaurateur Thuleewan “Kimmy” Boonyarattana was on the Phi Phi Islands when she got a phone call from her nephew on the morning of Dec. 26, 2004: “Are you all right there?” he asked. “Something happened.”

The phone disconnected as the waves from the powerful tsunami came. Boonyarattana, 52, never saw her nephew again.

"I [closed] my eyes and I just pray ... 'Oh God, take my life. I couldn't make it,' " she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

But despite the chaos that surrounded her, Boonyarattana managed to get to higher ground. Suddenly, she spotted a statue of Mary and baby Jesus — giving her “strength.”

Related: After Being Buried for Hours in 2004 Tsunami, Survivor Says Next Generation Needs to Know What Happened (Exclusive)

"My fears just went away," adds Boonyarattana, who is also featured in National Geographic's Tsunami: Race Against Time, streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. "Something inspired me that I had to start to help these people because I could not ignore [their] suffering."

For more on life 20 years after the 2004 tsunami, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now, or subscribe.

Boonyarattana recalls coming across an injured girl who asked for her help and to pray with her. She then died — among the nearly 230,000 people killed in the disaster.

"I [closed] her eyes and I [felt], 'oh no, my God,' " she adds. "After that ... everybody called for help."

Related: Supermodel Petra Nemcova Almost Died in the World's Worst Tsunami. How She Overcame Fear of Water and Healed (Exclusive)

After the devastation, Boonyarattana estimates that she and other survivors aided at least 100 people. She even helped translate.

"I could not leave the people and even children," she shares. "I could not ignore them."

The memories left a traumatic mark on Boonyarattana as she still wonders "why all of this happened" and why she couldn't help more people.

But today, she finally feels "much better." She says, "I feel stronger.”

Read the original article on People