Taipei, March 30 (CNA) The youngest victim in a colored powder blast at a New Taipei water park last summer will be discharged from hospital after nine months of treatment and rehabilitation, the Taipei Veterans General Hospital said Wednesday.
A total of 499 people were injured when colored powder ignited at a party at Formosa Fun Coast water park (八仙樂園) on June 27, 2015. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, seven of the injured are still hospitalized due to burns sustained in the blast, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. To date, 15 people have died as a result of the explosion.
Lee Chun-yi (李峻毅), 13, was the youngest of the victims. He was in critical condition when rushed to hospital with burns to 91 percent of his body.
The Taipei Veterans General Hospital, which admitted 43 of the burn victims following the disaster, held a celebration party for Lee Wednesday, congratulating him on his "rebirth" and his discharge.
The hospital said that Lee has been intubated with a nasogastric tube and catheter, as well as undergoing 41 big and minor surgeries over the past nine months, and lauded him for his courage.
Lee has now progressed to the point where he can stand for two minutes at a time, and will continue his rehabilitation at home.
The hospital noted that when Lee was admitted, he weighed only 39 kilograms and his early recovery was poor because he was malnourished.
After loving care from his family and medical team, however, Lee has grown from 154 cm to 170 cm and now weighs 60 kg.
"He is a child raised by the hospital," Lee's mother said in gratitude.
She said the whole family was plunged into utter distress after the accident, and Lee could not accept the changes to his body.
He has only recently emotionally accepted the situation and has grown taller and stronger.
Lee's mother said that her son's biggest interest is playing basketball, and she has encouraged him by saying that even if he cannot recover 100 percent, he should set a 90 percent recovery as his goal so that he can return to the basketball court.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan and Lilian Wu)
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