Family struggle as actor loses lung
The family of ailing actor Tridsadee "Por" Sahawong, whose left lung
was removed last week as he battles dengue fever, say they are finding
his plight hard to accept.
Speaking at Ramathibodi Hospital hours after the operation on Thursday, his manager, Sornmontra Pichaisornplaeng, said Por's family will feel happier when he is able to sit up and talk again.
"Before this, they took him off a ventilator, and he was able to sit up and talk. He sounded a little hoarse at times, but we would like to recapture that moment. If that image could come back again we would be much happier than we are today," he said.
The popular Channel 3 actor was admitted to hospital early last month and fell into a coma which lasted weeks. On Nov 22, doctors amputated his left foot to contain an infection as complications from the illness spread.
Early this month, his family broke the news to Por about the loss of his left foot. Reports from hospital said his condition was stable, which gave his family and fans cause for hope.
However, on Thursday they took him back to the operating theatre to remove his left lung, shocking his fans.
Speaking on behalf of his medical team, Surasak Lila-udomlipi, director of Ramathibodi Hospital, said blood loss from the lining of Por’s lung led to air sacs rupturing in many spots.
"The result was we could no longer treat him by keeping him on a breathing machine alone.
As far as the infection in the right lung is concerned, we are still treating it with antibiotics," he said, adding a patient who stays active can still make a go of life even on one lung.
While Por’s family say they knew the lung operation was coming, the news has dismayed the actor’s fans, with many asking if the surgeons know what they are doing.
"I feel sorry for the patient and his family. While my heart is always with them, I am starting to lose hope. Previously the doctors told us the infection was contained, but now this," one frustrated fan wrote on social media.
"They appear to trying out one thing after another as if he is a test case. Treatment in one area warps into problems somewhere else. Why could they not contain it in one go?"
The lung setback comes as Por’s family battles a rash of fake websites claiming the actor has died from the disease. The websites carry news images of a patient, face obscured, undergoing funeral rites.
Accompanied by racy headlines such as "Nation in shock: Por dies!" they have been inserted under the banners of Thai language dailies including Thai Rath and Khao Sod.
The papers promptly issued alerts to readers asking them to disregard the reports. One website, "Take Me Out Thailand", claimed to show Por’s close friend, veteran actress Naowarat "Jik" Yuktanun, applying make-up to his body. Outspoken actress Panadda "Poom" Wongphudee slammed the fake websites, urging those responsible to consider his family.
"No doubt you find it all amusing, but I am not laughing," she said.
She said one doctored image, supposedly showing celebrities at Por’s funeral, is in fact taken from the 2013 funeral of country music singer Sayan Sanya.
Por’s manager says the family has chosen to disregard the websites.
"We have no plan to take legal action," he said. "Perhaps they have nothing better to do. Of course it will affect our morale at times. But those who keep up with the news can help cover up the lies. Many people have called to ask. If they are friends, family or journalists at the hospital, they can see for themselves it’s not true. We can just let it go."
Doctors say the operation was a success, but Por’s condition is still critical. -
2. Not such an easy ride
Actor Ananda Everingham is asking the law to show mercy towards a young man caught for stealing his motorcycle, after an earlier social media comment appears to show him gloating over his fate.
Ananda took to social media on Thursday to say police, aided by a group of bikers, had managed to catch a young man who stole his 850,000 baht Harley from a Chiang Mai showroom. He had asked the showroom to sell the bike on his behalf.
Police reports identified the suspect as Thawatchai (last name withheld), 19. They say he spotted the bike with the keys in the ignition and took off with it in front of a showroom packed staff and biker customers. Police set up roadblocks and were able to catch him in front of a local temple.
On Instagram, Ananda wrote in English: "OK. So this idiot just tried to steal my custom Harley right from the Richco Harley showroom @richyheavens which in turn is full of hardcore bikers. Guess what happened next. Anyways, I hope the kid will learn a lesson, and that is ‘don't steal from bikers (especially from their showrooms)’. Also, I hope the law will show some leniency for this 19-year-old kid."
In a later exchange, a netizen claiming to be the young man’s relative thanked various people involved in the case for showing mercy to the lad.
However, he added Thawatchai, following his arrest, was now in hospital being treated for injuries. "He might have suffered impact to his head, as he was kicked there, also in chest and organs," said the message, without going into detail. "He raced off down the motorway, but was never going to make it past the police."
Apologising to Ananda, the poster said Thawatchai was a substance abuser, raised by his grandmother after his parents died. He had been raised in an environment with little discipline.
Media images show police at the scene of the arrest, with a young man seated on the road. They say Thawatchai, who has confessed, liked the look of the bike but had no money to buy it. The case is continuing. -
3. Students over troubled waters
Police in Thon Buri are preparing to round up a group of students who took revealing photographs of a model on a public bridge in Bang Khun Thian district.
The pictures show a model wearing little else but body ornaments, including a crown. They are normally worn to adorn a traditional Thai costume, but in this case the model is wearing nothing else, leaving her private parts exposed.
The pictures, which are doing the rounds on social media, were taken on a public bridge in an area which normally serves as a nature study point, according to district officials.
In a complaint laid with Thian Taleh police, the district’s assistant director, Sombat Nampinit, says permission is normally required before the public can make commercial use of the area.
The district claims it knows who was responsible for the daring shots, and wants to take legal action against them under the Computer Crimes Act.
She said a group of five students took the images in late October. They also visited the area the week before the shoot, looking for locations.
News reports showed a group of seven or eight officials sternly inspecting the area following the complaint.
Morals campaigner Rabiabrat "Daeng" Pongpanit, a former senator, condemned the images.
She questioned whether the model was trying to get ahead by exploiting images of her private parts.
"Today’s young people are hooked on fun and sex, no matter what," she said.
"She has a real nerve to pose for such images, especially as she is wearing ornaments from Thai traditional literature."
Society should also ask what the photographer’s motives were in making the pictures, she said.
Police are preparing to issue a summons calling in the model for questioning.
They are likely to lay minor charges of indecent exposure in a public place, which carry a 500 baht fine.
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