5 survivors of northeast Thailand massacre on road to recovery

Five survivors of the horrific daycare centre massacre in northeast Thailand last week are on the road to recovery. These include three children and two adults. Four of the survivors are in intensive care units at Nong Bua Lam Phu Hospital, while one is at Udon Thani Hospital.

One boy, Kanpong Suana, or Nong Kan, is moving after he underwent an operation for cerebral hemorrhage. This was after he was either shot or stabbed. Doctors said the operation’s result was satisfactory, the Bangkok Post reported.

The condition of another boy, Thanatpong Somparn or Nong Sumaee, is also improving. Nong Sumaee was shot twice in the head at the daycare centre. After an operation, Nong Sumaee can now follow the doctor’s instructions.

The director of Nong Bua Lam Phu Hospital, Dr Phaithoon, said that doctors are trying to help Nong Samaee breathe without a ventilator. Nong Samaee’s mother said that her son could make a victory sign with his fingers and open his mouth to speak.

Another boy, three year old Nong Mick, is recovering from brain surgery in Udon Thani Hospital. In the first 20 hours following the surgery, there were no complications and Mick was in stable condition, according to hospital director Dr Sumon Tansunthornwiwat. He is still being monitored closely, Thai PBS reported.

Mick was travelling in the sidecar of his mother’s motorbike with his grandma when the gunman, having just finished his killing spree in the daycare centre, crashed into them in his pickup truck. Mick’s mother was killed in the crash. The gunman got out of his car and attacked him and his grandmother with a knife.

One of the adults, Benjawan Panlert, has regained consciousness. He is also moving, and can now breathe without a ventilator.

Another adult, Charoen Chaikruean, has also stopped depending on a ventilator. She is also starting to move more easily.

Thai Public Health Minister Anutin said that the Department of Mental Health will send a team of more than 60 psychiatrists, doctors, and other professionals to help the traumatised families of the victims of the massacre. The spokesman for the Royal Thai Police said that the national chief General Damrongsak Kittiprapas will go to Nong Bua Lam Phu to hand over donation money of about 7.8 million baht to the victims’ relatives tomorrow.