101-year-old survivor among those treated by S’pore Red Cross

NUWAKOT (NEPAL) — His rescue after being buried under the rubble of his home for a week was described as a miracle, but the troubles of the 101-year-old who survived the devastating Nepal earthquake are far from over.

After being discharged him a Bhutanese medical relief camp, Mr Funchu Tamang, who is still recovering from pneumonia, is now homeless, as is his family. He was one of several Nepalese who streamed into the medical camp set up by the Singapore Red Cross with Qatar Red Crescent, which began seeing patients yesterday.

After Mr Funchu was found on Saturday, he was warded at the Bhutan camp before being referred to the Singapore Red Cross for follow-ups.

Speaking to TODAY via a translator, his daughter, Ms Gauri Maya Ghale, 65, who lived several hours away from her father, said Mr Funchu’s neighbours had told her that he was working in the farms when the quake happened and had escaped unscathed.

She realised that he had, in fact, been at home when the earthquake happened on April 25 only after rescuers found him on Saturday.

As the Singapore Red Cross camp does not take overnight patients, Ms Gauri said she was worried about finding a place for her father to stay. “His home was destroyed in the earthquake. Relatives living here are also homeless because of the quake,” she said.

Dr Raymond Lim, a general surgical resident at the National University Hospital who attended to him, said Bhutanese doctors had diagnosed Mr Funchu with traumatic pneumothorax, a condition in which air is trapped between a person’s lungs and chest cavity. Dr Lim, who examined him yesterday, said Mr Funchu had also developed pneumonia in his right lung as a complication, which is being treated with antibiotics.

As of 7pm local time, the Singapore Red Cross camp had seen 96 patients, with some coming from areas as far as a four-hour drive away. The camp’s first patient, Ms Lalmaya, 65, who was treated for epistaxis, or bleeding from the nose, said it had taken her and her son an hour to walk to the camp from her home in Kimtang Village Development Committee.

Beyond those seeking treatment for chronic conditions and earthquake-related injuries, there were also patients such as Ms Sri Maya Tamang, 63, whom doctors said was suffering from a headache caused by the stress of losing her 11-year-old granddaughter in the earthquake. She was counselled at the camp.

Dr Tan Hun Hoe, the Singapore Red Cross’ medical adviser and consultant urologist, said: “Those who suffer from psychological stress as a result of the trauma of the earthquake ... (this can be) manifested by various other kinds of illnesses.” This includes conditions such as abdominal pain, loss of appetite and headaches, he added.

Going forward, Dr Tan said medical teams might want to consider bringing in counsellors to treat those suffering from post-disaster stress, though he added that the situation was complicated, as some doctors do not speak the language here.