When an incident or accident that could easily become a horrific tragedy turns out well, of course there is rejoicing.
And the entire world celebrated the “miracle in a Thailand cave” when 12 young boys and their “Wild Boars” soccer team coach were rescued against so many odds after having been trapped deep inside a monsoon-flooded cave for 18 days.
On top of that exhilarating news, health offcials at the scene as the boys exited the cave said the boys were in relatively good physical and mental health.
As a precaution, the boys and their coach were kept under medical observation for 10 days in a local hospital from which they walked out as international celebrities, having gained six pounds on average after having lost an average of nine pounds during their 18-day ordeal.
Dressed in their Wild Boars team shirts the boys appeared before the world’s media, seemed healthy and happy and demonstrated their good spirit and ball-handling skills during and after a news conference.
Then, there were the joyous homecomings and the savoring of meals and delicacies they had dreamed about during their ordeal.
For Adul Sam-On, it was Kentucky fried chicken.
For the youngest member of the team, Chanin Viboonrungruang, it was also fried chicken which he had already “ordered” in a note he wrote to his patents while still in the cave:
“Dad, Mom don’t worry about me. I am fine. Please tell Pee Yod [older female relative] to take me to eat fried chicken. Love you all”. said the boy who is known by his nickname Titun.
In the “let’s-wait-and-see” department – as far as it concerns the future and the welfare of the young boys — is the fact that many international film production companies have expressed interest in making a movie or documentary about the rescue operation.
The chief of the district where the boys live has said, “Fame is dangerous…These people aren’t from rich families. It can be tempting when they get approached with money and benefits that they’ve never had before.”
In all the jubilation and celebrations, the boys have never forgotten that they owe their rescue to thousands of professionals and volunteers from around the globe, many who risked their lives and one who lost his: Ex-Thai Navy SEAL Samarn Kunan, who died while delivering oxygen tanks to the trapped soccer team (below).
Already during their hospital stay the boys promised to spend time as novice Buddhist monks — a practice considered a high honor in Thailand — in memory of the SEAL.
Keeping their promise, three weeks after their rescue, the members of the Wild Boars began the ceremony to become novice Buddhist monks.
“Wearing white, the boys and their coach walked in a line in the northern town of Mae Sai, holding their heads low and their hands together,” says the New York Times
Just one of the boys did not undergo the Buddhist ordination ceremony as he is “a stateless Christian from Myanmar.”
The Times also mentions that the Wild Boars’ coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, will become a monk, rather than a novice, because he has already spent almost 10 years in the monkhood.
While there are still concerns over the long-term psychological health of the boys, this is certainly a good end to their nightmare and a good beginning to the rest of their lives.
Photos: Thai Navy
