" Apparently all families have agreed to remain together at the site until everyone is out. I don’t see this ever happening in the US, "
Wow. Not sure about where you’re from but I certainly do.
No way would US helicopter parents let the authorities take kids off to the hospital without knowing which kid and going along. Not sure US would constrain media access as much, either (they might use the “pool” concept to limit numbers, though).
“No way would US helicopter parents let the authorities take kids off to the hospital without knowing which kid and going along.”
They probably wouldn’t let them crawl around in those caves in the first place. And would make sure they knew how to swim.
Also, given the US medical and litigation system, one would think parents would be present to sign off on any needed medical care.
“They probably wouldn’t let them crawl around in those caves in the first place. And would make sure they knew how to swim.”
I’m the polar opposite from a helicopter parent (my kids have laughingly called me a “submarine parent” when we’re talking about helicopter parents), but those are pretty basic common sense things.
Absent a consent form executed by a parent or legal guardian, I am not sure U.S. law would even permit a doctor to examine an unaccompanied minor.
I think some states permit it for certain things like birth control or HIV testing.
I am sure the waiting family members would happily sign any medical consents as they maintain their vigil.
Right but they were reporting the parents initially didn’t know the identity of those being released. So unless every parent signed ahead of time…
Yes, they had a very long time to get all signatures if they wanted them. I strongly suspect laws in Thailand are very different from the US anyway, especially from what H who had had several extended trips there has said.
They were giving the boys some medical treatment in the cave as well.
These boys will likely get better medical care and more attention thsn they’ve had in their empoverished young lives.
There seem to be completely conflicting reports as to whether they took out the weakest or the strongest ones first. Or even what is meant by “weakest” or “strongest”. It will be interesting when the whole story comes out, for sure. These divers are real life superheroes.
There are many conflicting reports, for sure. The one clear thing is that it’s a very collaborative effort of many folks pitching in to work together to do their best possible for total strangers.
I applaud all these amazing workers — each is playing an important role that is allowing the amazing success. It will be wonderful if on the next effort, the remaining 5 can be safely brought out. I’m just very glad there has only been one fatality as this is a very dangerous situation.
Are they showing much footage of any of this situation on television or otherwise? I was away from screens for a few days and honestly I don’t think I could bear to watch any of this - it sounds like the ultimate scary situation to me.
I imagine the more familiar the divers get with the caves the safer the journey for all of them. I still can’t imagine willingly going into a cave to dive.
I can’t figure out how many people are in the cave with the remaining boys/coach. I keep seeing reports that there are 90 people at different points in the cave. There are 18 divers moving the boys. There is a doctor with the boys and it looks like more people from the pictures too. They have to bring 100 tanks of O2 in each day for the 4 rescues, but how many are being brought all the way to the group waiting?
The Australian doctor who assists with the rescue:
https://nypost.com/2018/07/09/aussie-doctor-hailed-for-role-in-thailand-cave-rescue/
And a nice tribute to the fallen ex-member of Thai Navy SEALS from Runners World:
https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a22088247/who-was-ex-seal-diver-in-thailand-cave-rescue/
Sounds like, weather permitting, they will rescue the last 5 people tomorrow. I applaud all that have made this collaborative effort possible to save these strangers as one big team, despite language and cultural barriers.
What wondrous things humans can achieve when working together!
It’s also nice that one of the boys could speak multiple languages and communicate with the British divers when the divers found the group. They were asked how many people were present and the boy said 13. The young boy was the only one in the group who could speak English.
It sounds like pumping water out made a big difference for the journey!
The children are not necessarily as impoverished as some may think. Thailand has VERY high employment rate, about 99%. The literacy rate is 98%. We weren’t in Northern Thailand, but there were numerous hospitals every place we visited. Chang Rai is a city. In the photos, some of the kids are wearing bike helmets, and they all wear soccer shirts, not soemthing you’d expect to see a very poor person wearing. Thailand is not a totally backward society, nor a litigious one. The U.S. is very litigious, but I’m pretty sure in those circumstances, any parent would waive whatever signatures were required to have their child treated by a cave-diving doctor. I certainly would, and I suppose I would trust that whatever the professionals advised would be in the best interest of my child.