Burn victim slowly recovering

Saijai’s face after doctors removed the bandages.

 

On February 13, 21-year-old masseuse Saijai Phromdaen was set on fire by a mentally unstable man and known paint-thinner sniffer at Patong’s Loma Park. After two months at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where she underwent multiple skin graft surgeries and treatments, K. Saijai recently returned to work at the beach.

K. Saijai spoke to Gazette reporter Supanun Supawong about her ongoing recovery, both physical and mental, and thanked all the Gazette readers who donated to the Saijai Aid fund set up for her by Dr Jerry Hoss.

Almost two months after her release from Vachira Hospital, K. Saijai took a big step forward in her recovery a few weeks ago by returning to work, though it is something she is doing more out of economic necessity than as a therapeutic measure.

Surveying her badly scarred forearms and knowing that her face suffered even worse disfigurement, she is left to wonder if she will ever regain a semblance of her old appearance. At the same time, she is grateful for the comfort and support she has received throughout the ordeal, both from her husband and family as well as many kind-hearted strangers who have contributed to Saijai Aid.

Back to work: Saijai (right), her mom Pennee and two-year-old daughter Sairung “Ice” Tharnsang at Patong Beach, where there are now far fewer customers than when she was attacked back in February this year.

“Even though I left Vachira Hospital about two months ago, I still suffer pain and itching where I am scarred on my arms and face. It doesn’t hurt much when I shower, but I get a painful stinging sensation and swelling from exposure to sunlight.

“Doctors at Vachira Hospital advised me to avoid direct sunlight, I really don’t have much of a choice. I have to work because I need the money,” she explained.

“ I also feel pain in my lips when speaking and I have to avoid opening my mouth wide,” she said.

K. Saijai suffers some kind of pain most of the day, and at night as she tries to sleep. “I cannot hold my daughter for too long or my arms start to swell. When I am asleep, I feel pain if I try to turn and sleep curled up,” she said.

However, being able to hold her daughter Sairung “Ice” Tharnsaeng is a big step forward. The playful two-year-old, who witnessed the attack, was terrified at the sight of her mom after the incident.

“My daughter is used to my condition now. The situation is a lot better than when I was in hospital. At first she cried every time she saw me and she was afraid to come near, but now she is ok,” she said.

Before doctors released her, they told K. Saijai that she would remain scarred for life and that there were no medications that could reverse the loss of skin she suffered from her severe burns. Nevertheless, she continues to buy scar-reducing salves and skin nourishing creams from pharmacies in the hopes of returning her appearance as much as possible to what it once was.

“The doctors told me to come back in six months if there wasn’t any further improvement, but they didn’t schedule an appointment,” she said.
“I worry about my face the most, because now I have bright scars, which cause people to stare at me. This makes me feel self-conscious so I don’t want to go out in public, but I have no choice because I have to work.

“My mother always comforts me and provides support, which gives me the strength to go out and face the world,” she said.

K. Saijai said the attack on her by 43-year-old Chumphon native Sombun Kaewkhaaw has left her in fear of mentally ill people. “I can still remember it like it happened yesterday and it still scares me,” she said.

“An investigator with the Kathu Police questioned me after I left the hospital. I was told that it would be difficult to prosecute the man who did this to me because he was diagnosed as insane at Suan Saranrom Psychiatric Hospital. They said he was suffering from paranoia.

“No relatives came to claim him or look after him. Perhaps they feared they would be held responsible for my treatment costs if they did. The last I heard, he was being held in a cell at Phuket Provincial Court,” said K. Saijai.

Asked about her hopes for the future, K. Saiji said she hoped kindhearted people would continue to donate enough for her to get the expensive surgery procedures she needs to give her a more normal appearance and reduce facial pain.

“I want to get better so I can work and save up enough money to send my daughter to daycare, where she can start learning with other kids her own age. Right now my husband and I cannot afford that, so she stays with us all day. My husband is working, but his salary is low. My mother helps us as well.

“I received 5,000 baht in assistance money from the Red Cross Society, along with help from others who know me and kindhearted readers of the Phuket Gazette who donated money [through Saijai Aid] and brought me food. I really want to thank everybody who helped me for all their kind support,” she said.

K. Saijai said her husband, who is 22, has thus far been loyal to her despite her disfigurement, but that she worries whether or not the commitment will continue. “If my face stays like this, I don’t know how long my husband can stay with me,” she said.

“He works as a dishwasher at a hotel in Kata, where he makes 5,700 baht per month. We have lived together for five years, at my parents house in Chalong, where we are raising our daughter.

“My husband is still as good to me as ever, standing by me, taking care of me and lending moral support. He has asked me if my face will ever return to normal. I tell him I don’t know. However, I do know that he feels embarrassed among his friends that his wife looks like this.

“I sense that he is afraid to take me out in public, but I don’t feel angry or neglected about it. I understand that it’s normal behavior. However, I’m not sure how long he can live with me in this condition and this worries me.”

“I used to make about 1,000 baht a day giving massages in the high season, but I had to save money in order to cover all my expenses during the low season, which includes milk money and insurance for my daughter and sharing water and electricity bills with my parents.

“But this has changed my life completely. Although I am finally back to work, there are few tourists around now because it is the low season and I lose a lot of work because of all the rain. What savings I do have I end up spending on the creams and ointments I need for my wounds. My parents help me with this too, which means we don’t have enough to get my daughter into a daycare program.

“Sometimes I break down and cry when I think about how this terrible misfortune has happened to me. I often feel sad and dejected, but I am lucky that I have good parents and a husband who has stood by me. They always tell me my face will get better. Now I still think I have a 50% chance of having my face return to normal. I hope that it does, so that when I go to work people won’t stare at me like I am strange,” she said.

K. Saijai’s typical daily routine these days involves getting up early and doing housework until about 10 am, then she goes to Patong to work – weather permitting.

“Sometimes it hurts me to massage my customers; I can’t give a hard massage like I used to. I have had only two customers since going back to work a few weeks ago. They haven’t seemed afraid of me, but curious as to what happened. When I explained, they felt sympathy for me and gave me nice tips,” she said.

“I don’t blame anyone or anything for what happened to me. I think it is just my own misfortune and I have to deal with it as best I can. I know I have to take care of my health and stay as strong as possible. I hope nothing bad like this ever happens to me again. I hope that my appearance improves close to what it was before and that I can work as hard as I used to.”

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