Thailand cave rescue: How can rescuers free the boys?

**Yazata** · (This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2018 07:17 PM by Yazata.)

(Jul 10, 2018 01:11 PM)RainbowUnicorn Wrote: ALL OUT !

All 12 members of a Thai youth football team and their coach have been brought safely out of the cave in northern Thailand

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/44755093

The Thai rescuers are heroes. Nobody expected that they would be able to do this so successfully. (I certainly didn't.) I don't think that they thought themselves that they could do it without some of the boys dying.

The boys are heroes. They survived nine days in total darkness with next to no food and not knowing if anyone would ever come to rescue them. All they had was just their little flashlights getting dimmer and dimmer. Then with no experience diving, they swam out through a maze of tiny flooded passages that were challenging even for experienced cave divers. I like the fact that as soon as the rescue divers reached them, what they wanted to know about was what was happening at the World Cup.

And yes, their coach is a hero. He was certifiably stupid for leading them in there when rain threatened. But after the cave started to flood, he kept them organized as a team, he kept their spirits up and kept fear from overwhelming them, and pushed them to do whatever they had to do in order to survive.

I'm impressed. Somebody could make this into a movie. I just feel bad about that one volunteer diver who died.

**Magical Realist** · Jul 10, 2018 05:26 PM

I can't imagine the terror of those 9 days in darkness. No hope. Starvation. Rising waters. What a traumatizing experience. I imagine those boys will never want to go into a cave again.

**RainbowUnicorn** · Jul 11, 2018 01:02 AM

(Jul 10, 2018 05:26 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: I can't imagine the terror of those 9 days in darkness. No hope. Starvation. Rising waters. What a traumatizing experience. I imagine those boys will never want to go into a cave again.

no different to having a romantic relationship or a domestic violence survivor.
serious car crash survivor...

they can recover
it is human nature to over come such things, however, statistically, not all do and thats unfortunate. but with modern psychology CBT & medication & technology those who might kill themselves or become murderrers later in life because of it might not.
thats a good thing.

i know a women who had 2 plane crashes
1 of which she was the only survivor. she still traveled internationally on planes.

maybe 1 of them will become a navy seal and save an entire country from collpase and the death of hundreds of thousands of people & billions in economic collapse and the starvation of millions and never get any media attention at all.

and it will because of these guys

Sgt. Major Saman Gunan

[Image: 9949952-3x2-700x467_large.jpg?v=1531153014]

Thai Navy seals

[Image: Thai%20Navy%20Seal%20facebook%20image.jp...inline.jpg]

Brittish Cave Diver Rescue Specialists

**Magical Realist** · (This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2018 02:51 AM by Magical Realist.)

Quote:no different to having a romantic relationship or a domestic violence survivor.
serious car crash survivor..

Bullshit. It's a traumatizing experience for anyone, especially for kids in their formative years. I bet they suffer ptsd from this if not persistant phobias..

**Yazata** · Jul 11, 2018 03:14 AM

It's conceivable that this experience has made some of them more interested in caves and cave exploration. Some of them might even feel like if they can handle this, they can handle anything that any cave might throw at them.

**Magical Realist** · (This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2018 03:37 AM by Magical Realist.)

"While the medical rescue teams on the ground are trying to ensure the boys are in good physical condition, experts say the mental trauma they've experienced may be their greatest challenge to overcome.

"They've been put in a completely foreign and terrifying situation," Dr. Jessie Warner Cohen, a health psychologist at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, told CBS News. "They were in the dark for days without knowing what would happen."

This extreme environment can make the brain react in "very unusual" ways, says Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital.

"You start to hallucinate, you see things, you hear things. You can't really have a sense of who you are," Glatter told "CBS This Morning."

The boys' ages, ranging from 11 to 16, may play a big role in how they are affected, experts say. "Kids of this age are very resilient," Glatter noted. But as the pre-teen and teen years are when people begin to form their own independent identity, the trauma they've experienced may shape who they are in the long-term.

"There are things that happen immediately and that can be sleeplessness, trouble with some of the triggers like being in dark spaces or being some place enclosed, but then as you progress through life and especially now that they're at the age where they're still developing it can really help form who they are as a person," Warner Cohen said.

As life goes on, she said certain stressors could retrigger them.

"In the brain, the place that stores traumatic memories and sensations are right next to each other. So things like a smell, a certain sight, a sound can be triggering really lifelong, and it's working through the issues now and having access to services throughout their life," Warner Cohen said.

However, many experts believe their natural resilience is a trait that help a great deal in how they recover.

"They are 11 to 16 and they have a lot more resilience than someone who may be older, who may have developed more intense fears," family therapist Dr. Kathryn Smerling said.

Still, other experts note that there is the threat of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can develop after protracted trauma. But Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, said he is hopeful it won't be an issue for a majority of the boys and their coach.

"There's a likelihood of resilience, assuming everyone comes out, there's no fatalities, I think the worst is behind them," Adesman told CBS News on Monday as the rescue operation proceeded.

The boys' parents and mental health professionals will need to be on the lookout for symptoms of PTSD, including nightmares, flashbacks, concentration issues and impulsive or aggressive behavior in order to get them appropriate treatment."---- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mental-trau...-thailand/

**Secular Sanity** · (This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2018 05:01 AM by Secular Sanity.)

You're a big fan, Yazata. What's your take on this article?

Is Elon Musk Serious?

**Syne** · Jul 11, 2018 05:19 AM

Some people have very different definitions of "trauma".

At least the one Thai Seal member who died did so a hero.

**RainbowUnicorn** · (This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2018 10:30 AM by RainbowUnicorn.)

(Jul 11, 2018 02:40 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:no different to having a romantic relationship or a domestic violence survivor.
serious car crash survivor..

Bullshit. It's a traumatizing experience for anyone, especially for kids in their formative years. I bet they suffer ptsd from this if not persistant phobias..

you have misinterpreted my point.
never mind.

i am attempting to focus on the positive side of things.

**Zinjanthropos** · Jul 11, 2018 12:35 PM

No doubt that every time these boys are diagnosed with an ailment, mental or physical, everything from hiccups to erectile dysfunction will be blamed on the cave experience.