From Refugee to Healer: Dr. Katrina Nguyen’s Journey of Faith, Freedom, and Service

Dr. Katrina Nguyen was just 14 months old when her family fled Vietnam by boat during the Fall of Saigon, a journey marked by near-death experiences and unimaginable courage. Now a board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist, bestselling author, and founder of the nonprofit Faithful-2-Fitness, she channels that legacy of resilience into helping families fight childhood obesity and build healthier futures. In this powerful conversation, Dr. Nguyen shares her refugee story, her path to medicine, and why compassion, gratitude, and generosity remain at the heart of everything she does.

Interview recorded in Loves Park, Illinois.

Key Takeaways:

• Dr. Nguyen’s family escaped Communist Vietnam by boat in 1975, surviving multiple near-death experiences
• Her upbringing as one of 10 children shaped her resilience and gratitude
• She founded Faithful-2-Fitness to provide free health education and lifestyle tools to underserved families
• Cultural context and compassion are essential in addressing childhood obesity
• Her Catholic faith deeply informs her work in medicine, service, and philanthropy
• Writing Live to Give and other books helped her process grief and inspire generosity
• Small acts of compassion can spark long-term transformation—personally and societally

Dr. Katrina Nguyen's Bio:

Dr. Katrina Nguyen is a board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist, a two-time best-selling author, and founder of Faithful-2-Fitness, a nonprofit to fight childhood obesity. 

She was just 14 months old when her family escaped by boat from Communist Vietnam in April 1975 after the Fall of Saigon. She nearly died twice during her journey to freedom and the American Dream. 

She is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford. She has shared her expertise via EWTN Global Catholic Network, YMCA podcast, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Her Christian faith drives her to serve others. She established charity funds with Raymond James and Northwestern Mutual. Her nonprofit's sponsors include Chick-fil-A and Fleet Feet.

Dr. Nguyen lives in Illinois with her husband Dr. Deladisma. She enjoys being a dog mom, gardening and traveling.

Connect with Katrina:

https://www.instagram.com/mdkatrina/#

https://www.tiktok.com/@mdkatrina

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Can you pinpoint a moment in time when your life changed? Maybe it wasn’t a moment, maybe it was a complicated chain of events that led you to where you are today. Or maybe, it was a generational impact that started before you were even born. Regardless of what it contains, all humans have a story. And those stories are the building blocks of who we are, at our very core. Join host, Jennifer Peterkin - lover and collector of stories, as she interviews humans from all walks of life. Tune in every week to hear stories of love and loss, triumph and defeat, and all that exist in between.