By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Leader
Almost a year ago on August 1st 2014, a terrible gas explosion shook the southern city of Kaohsiung, with many people sustaining severe burn injuries. For a year now, Sunshine Foundation has been helping 51 burn survivors from this disaster, with 41 of them still undergoing physical and psychological rehabilitation at the Kaohsiung Rehabilitation Center. As these burn survivors are still trying to overcome many difficulties in order to return to a normal life, they are also painfully aware of the hardships facing another group of burn victims: those from the Taipei Water Park Explosion of June 27, 2015. That is why eight burn survivors from Sunshine’s Kaohsiung Rehabilitation Center have decided to overcome their shyness in front of the camera to participate in the production of a short film and send encouragements to burn victims currently struggling in hospitals across Taiwan. They hope that by sharing their experience, they can give burn victims and family members the courage and hope to face the future.
The eight burn survivors featured in the film have TBSA (total body surface area that is burned) ranging from 12% to 75%. Apart from the physical pain from repeated debridement, skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries, they’ve also had to deal with the emotional pressure of coping with a changed appearance or being entirely dependent on others for their daily needs. They bravely share on camera their ordeal in order to encourage the burn victims from the Taipei Water Park Explosion.
One of them is Yan-Hsiang, who sustained third degree burns over 66% of his body. The explosion knocked him unconscious and he woke up a month and a half later, only to realize that his right leg had been amputated in order to preserve his life. Deep in despair about his condition and his future, he realized that his wife and child had remained by his side, caring for him every day, so he decided that they would be his reason to go on. Yan-Hsiang must now wear pressure garments, he’s had to learn how to walk with a prosthetic leg and he will most probably need to undergo further reconstructive surgeries for his face, but he is well aware of how far he’s come and wants to send burn victims this message: “I’ve lost a leg and now I’m able to stand up, you too can do it!”
Yan-Hsiang says: “You have to find something you believe in that will be your reason to go on living or something that you feel you must accomplish in your life. Don’t think about yesterday, the day before or things in the past. Your physical condition will be totally different from what it used to be. You have to think about how you’ll face tomorrow and the day after.”
About Kaoshiung Rehabilitation Center:
Sunshine’s Kaohsiung Rehabilitation Center was established in 2014 following the August 1st Gas Explosion. The Center provides physical and psychosocial rehabilitation services to burn survivors, including physical and occupational therapy, pressure garment and assistive device services, financial aid, psychological counseling, independent living training, wound care and vocational strengthening.
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