BANGKOK, Thailand – Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova (search) has returned to Thailand to thank doctors and nurses who helped her recover from serious injuries sustained when the tsunami struck the resort island of Phuket (search).
Nemcova, whose boyfriend was killed by the giant waves, spent three weeks in a southern Thailand hospital being treated for injuries to her pelvis. She has since returned to work.
The 26-year-old model Sunday met with the staff of Songkhla Nagarin Hospital and others who offered their support during her treatment following the December 26 tsunami (search), which ravaged communities around the Indian Ocean and killed hundreds of thousands, The Nation newspaper said.
While being evacuated from Phuket, where the wave swept through the couple's beach hut, a fellow victim gave Nemcova a necklace with a Buddhist amulet.
"I have worn it till this day," she said.
Nemcova was pulled away from her boyfriend, British fashion photographer Simon Atlee (search), when the wave hit and clung to a palm tree for nearly eight hours before being rescued. Atlee's body was later found and identified in March.
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