THE GOOD news came at the weekend, when Shane Free responded in person to a Facebook message we'd sent him on December 28. It was confirmed in an email from his mother, Monica Vearer: Shane is home at long last.
His long months of recuperation in hospital from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash on Phuket are at an end. The struggle has not been easy. But he is alive, and growing well again.
In December, 2009, a badly injured man was found lying unconscious on a Phuket road between Patong and Chalong. He had no identification on him. There was even speculation that perhaps he was kicked off his motorcycle, and robbed.
In the days that followed, nurses at Vachira Hospital in Phuket City turned detectives and, with the help of British honorary consul Martin Carpenter, not only identified the victim as local dive business owner Shane Free, but also notified his mother in Britain.
Before much longer, Monica was by her son's side . . . and that's where she has remained. In a coma at first, Shane needed to learn many of life's tasks all over again, including how to walk.
Monica marshalled all her strength to help her son recover, eventually organising a medical evacuation back to Britain. Yet she also found the time to make a point only a mother could make: all of Phuket's motorcycle riders needed to wear helmets, not just riders.
''This is now so serious the government has got to step in and say 'this is unacceptable,''' she said. ''I see plenty of police in the town and I still see people riding around with no crash helmets. They should be pulled over.''
Monica's desire to save lives could not even be stilled by Phuket's sceptics who did not see change ever coming. At the same time as Phuketwan was helping to organise the Mothers or Motorcycles (MoM) action group, Colonel Wanchai Eakporntip, superintendent of Phuket City police station, was coming to the same conclusion as Monica.
His strategic campaign has seen motorcycle helmet wearing adopted by thousands and carried into Phuket's schools and colleges. Gradually, the message is being ingrained. Lives are being saved, injuries are being prevented.
Fewer mothers will find themselves in Monica's situation.
''Hi, just though you would like to know Shane is home now for good out of rehab,'' she wrote us in a cheery email. ''He is now an outpatient for rehab and is doing well, even if there s still long way to go.
''Shane is still doing his swimming and snorkeling and is getting better each time I take him. His handwriting is virtually back to normal and he is fine tuning his balance work.
''We do a lot of walking and Shane has manage to walk a good distance. We also go rowing and Shane has not lost any of his rowing ability.
''Shane goes to the gym on a Friday and has a good work out.
''We do lots of excises at home as well, and whereever I can, I have Shane doing something like washing, cooking, housework. It's a full time job keeping this up, but if you want the best for your son, you will do anything.
''I do feel it is most important to carry on with the intense care that I have given Shane all the way through his recovery. It has help him for a much more speedy recovery. Hope you like the photos.''
We did, Monica, and we remain grateful for your good idea.
Phuket Crash Puts British Diver in Long ComaHis long months of recuperation in hospital from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash on Phuket are at an end. The struggle has not been easy. But he is alive, and growing well again.
In December, 2009, a badly injured man was found lying unconscious on a Phuket road between Patong and Chalong. He had no identification on him. There was even speculation that perhaps he was kicked off his motorcycle, and robbed.
In the days that followed, nurses at Vachira Hospital in Phuket City turned detectives and, with the help of British honorary consul Martin Carpenter, not only identified the victim as local dive business owner Shane Free, but also notified his mother in Britain.
Before much longer, Monica was by her son's side . . . and that's where she has remained. In a coma at first, Shane needed to learn many of life's tasks all over again, including how to walk.
Monica marshalled all her strength to help her son recover, eventually organising a medical evacuation back to Britain. Yet she also found the time to make a point only a mother could make: all of Phuket's motorcycle riders needed to wear helmets, not just riders.
''This is now so serious the government has got to step in and say 'this is unacceptable,''' she said. ''I see plenty of police in the town and I still see people riding around with no crash helmets. They should be pulled over.''
Monica's desire to save lives could not even be stilled by Phuket's sceptics who did not see change ever coming. At the same time as Phuketwan was helping to organise the Mothers or Motorcycles (MoM) action group, Colonel Wanchai Eakporntip, superintendent of Phuket City police station, was coming to the same conclusion as Monica.
His strategic campaign has seen motorcycle helmet wearing adopted by thousands and carried into Phuket's schools and colleges. Gradually, the message is being ingrained. Lives are being saved, injuries are being prevented.
Fewer mothers will find themselves in Monica's situation.
''Hi, just though you would like to know Shane is home now for good out of rehab,'' she wrote us in a cheery email. ''He is now an outpatient for rehab and is doing well, even if there s still long way to go.
''Shane is still doing his swimming and snorkeling and is getting better each time I take him. His handwriting is virtually back to normal and he is fine tuning his balance work.
''We do a lot of walking and Shane has manage to walk a good distance. We also go rowing and Shane has not lost any of his rowing ability.
''Shane goes to the gym on a Friday and has a good work out.
''We do lots of excises at home as well, and whereever I can, I have Shane doing something like washing, cooking, housework. It's a full time job keeping this up, but if you want the best for your son, you will do anything.
''I do feel it is most important to carry on with the intense care that I have given Shane all the way through his recovery. It has help him for a much more speedy recovery. Hope you like the photos.''
We did, Monica, and we remain grateful for your good idea.
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Good piece of writing, PW.
Posted by Tanya Millibank on September 28, 2010 22:26