Thai boys stuck in cave

[VelociRapture]

39 minutes ago, Tenyari said:

CBS REPORTS THAT ALL THE BOYS AND THE COACH HAVE BEEN RESCUED! I'm so thankful to everyone involved in the rescue mission, those people are heroes! 

My husband just told me this! I’m on the other side of the world, have no connection to these kids at all, and I’m just so relieved everyone is safe. What an incredible testament to the strength and courage of everyone involved!

1 hour ago, Tenyari said:

Everything I've heard from my Thai friends seems to be true - the boys went to the cave on their own, their parents were worried after they did not come back, they told Ek about it and he went to look for them. Finding their things near the entrance of the cave, he knew they came in. He went in to bring them out and it seems they wandered deeper inside than expected. Then the monsoon came down and trapped all of them in.

 

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/world/thai-cave-rescue-how-the-cave-nightmare-began-ng-b88889337z

If this is accurate then it makes all the people casting blame or calling for his blood even more deplorable. It was disgusting to read people saying he should be locked away or left in the caves to begin with, but if this article is correct it’s even more so.

This is why I’m such a believer in getting all the facts prior to passing judgement.

[dharmapunk]

1 hour ago, Tenyari said:

CBS REPORTS THAT ALL THE BOYS AND THE COACH HAVE BEEN RESCUED! I'm so thankful to everyone involved in the rescue mission, those people are heroes! 

That's amazing!  I had serious doubts that they could all make it out alive. Brilliant work by the rescue team! Hope the boys and their coach recover quickly.

I have been told that the parents have not yet been allowed to see the boys. Does anybody know if that is true? What could be the reason for keeping them sperated from their children?

[tabitha2]

To ensure they didn’t catch any diseases or parasites that could spread. 

[Lisafer]

I'm so glad they're all safe! Yes!!!! I've been worrying about those boys, and I don't even know them!

[Tenyari]

Thai Navy SEALs are asking for support for four more rescuers who have yet to come out of the cave on their Page (apparently their members), so four more people to go, but they are in a much better shape than the boys and the coach were so even though I'm still not breathing 100% like I  was when I heard that everyone was out, I'm more hopeful that this part of the mission will be done smoothly.

[Loveday]

8 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

I'm so glad they're all safe! Yes!!!! I've been worrying about those boys, and I don't even know them!

Me, too! I was so afraid they wouldn't make it, but I'm thrilled that I was wrong! 

[neurogirl]

 

EVERYONE is out!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/world/asia/thailand-cave-rescue-live-updates.html

[meee]

YES!

I've only been popping in and out to follow this story here, haven't had time to sit and read articles, so can someone tell me, is everyone expected to make a full recovery?

[Chewing Gum]

4 minutes ago, meee said:

YES!

I've only been popping in and out to follow this story here, haven't had time to sit and read articles, so can someone tell me, is everyone expected to make a full recovery?

As far as I’ve heard/read, yes. They are enjoying meat meals and getting psych evaluations. 

[neurogirl]

The last I read is that they are being cautious with eating, getting porridge and broth right now. That may have changed for the boys out the earliest. The boys and coach will be quarantined to protect against possible infection but have seen their families through glass. Two of the boys have signs of pneumonia (possibly two of the 4 first out) but are expected to make a full physical recovery. 

[dharmapunk]

5 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

To ensure they didn’t catch any diseases or parasites that could spread. 

What could the boys catch down there that you could not prevent from spreading by wearing a surgical mask and gloves? It seems cruel to seperate them from their families after what they have been through.

Ps: So glad to hear the rescue team came out of the cave as well. These guys are amazing!

[tabitha2]

I dunno that’s just what I read. Any doctors here can chime in.

[Palimpsest]

30 minutes ago, dharmapunk said:

What could the boys catch down there that you could not prevent from spreading by wearing a surgical mask and gloves? It seems cruel to seperate them from their families after what they have been through.

There are nasty bugs in caves, and many rats, bats, and other critters.  Especially as these boys have been in there for days, could have been bitten, and have been drinking contaminated water they are still at risk. 

Off the top of my head the big risks are histoplasmosis, leptospirosis, and various tick-borne diseases.  Also rabies is a possibility.  Marburg fever, which is related to Ebola, is only in Africa AFAIK, but could have spread to Thailand.  You don't play games with that.

[Howl]

If the boys were exposed to histoplasmosis, everyone at the entrance or that went further into the cave has been exposed to histoplasmosis.  It's not uncommon in environments where birds and bats roost, so likely near the cave entrance if birds or if there are bat colonies, perhaps further into the cave.  It's caused by inhaling fungal spores and not everyone who has been exposed to it gets sick. It's isn't a contagious illness. Perhaps there are increased concerns for the boys whose immune systems are likely compromised by their ordeal.  It's treatable.

Histoplasmosis is not uncommon in parts of the US. This is from the CDC Web site:

The fungus lives in the environment, particularly in soil that contains large amounts of bird or bat droppings. In the United States, Histoplasma mainly lives in the central and eastern states, especially areas around the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys.

 

 

[LiterallyBananas]

8 hours ago, Tenyari said:

CBS REPORTS THAT ALL THE BOYS AND THE COACH HAVE BEEN RESCUED! I'm so thankful to everyone involved in the rescue mission, those people are heroes! 

I saw the story and got tingles. It's so, so unfortunate the team and coach had to experience what they did, but moments like this give me hope. Hundreds of people from around the world united to facilitate their rescue. With all the corrupt and really tragic shit happening on a daily basis, we were still able to find common ground and do a good thing. 

I hope the publicity brings support and positive opportunities for the boys and their families. Their resiliancy is incredible. 

[Palimpsest]

5 minutes ago, Howl said:

Perhaps there are increased concerns for the boys whose immune systems are likely compromised by their ordeal. 

I think this is primarily why they are being kept isolated.  To protect them from exposure to other germs and to monitor them for developing symptoms. 

Histo can make you pretty damn sick, that is why many of the rescue team were wearing surgical masks at the cave.  Lepto is contagious.

There are various other nasty "cave" diseases too.  

[tabitha2]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/god-not-dead-producer-already-thailand-researching-movie-231708686.html

 

Now how the hell you gonna make a Christian film bout a bunch a Buddhist School boys and The Buddhist Coach who used to be a Monk in Mostly Buddhist country?   Besides the whole fact they are already ready to profit from this. 

 

Some peoples children I swear...  

Edited July 11, 2018 by tabitha2

[Briefly]

9 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/god-not-dead-producer-already-thailand-researching-movie-231708686.html

 

Now how the hell you gonna make a Christian film bout a bunch a Buddhist School boys and The Buddhist Coach who used to be a Monk in Mostly Buddhist country?   Besides the whole fact they are already ready to profit from this. 

 

Some peoples children I swear...  

I am not surprised that there will be a movie.  Hopefully, it will be done with their religious beliefs in mind and not from a  Christian perspective.  Their faith needs to be respected.

I'm just so thrilled that they are out, all of them including the coach and the rescuers.  I did not sleep too well the last couple of nights, I kept thinking about the boys and their parents.  I'm so happy that they have all made it out.

[nvmbr02]

I came across this interesting story about the doctor who went into the cave as part of the rescue.

Cave rescue: The Australian diving doctor who stayed with the boys.

 

I had heard they were keeping the boys in isolation to protect them since their immune systems were weak, which does make sense (at least to my not medically trained mind). I do wish more information was out about their health but I also understand they (the boys and their families) may not want everything to be so public. 

 

[AmazonGrace]

The episode in which Elon Musk attempts to make it all about him 

As if Elon Musk ever rescued anyone from a flooded cave on his life.  

[AmazonGrace]

This could have easily ended in a bigger tragedy, with more rescue workers getting trapped.  Turns out the best way for Elon Musk to help might have been giving them better pumps

 

[VelociRapture]

The father of Dr. Harris, who was instrumental in the rescue efforts and who spent time in the caves with the team, passed away around the time the rescue was complete. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/thai-cave-rescue-hero-australian-053000972.html

My most sincere condolences go out to Dr. Harris and his family on the loss of his father. This must have been a week of incredible highs and lows for Dr. Harris and I wish him healing and peace. 

[LiterallyBananas]

12 hours ago, nvmbr02 said:

I came across this interesting story about the doctor who went into the cave as part of the rescue.

Cave rescue: The Australian diving doctor who stayed with the boys.

 

I had heard they were keeping the boys in isolation to protect them since their immune systems were weak, which does make sense (at least to my not medically trained mind). I do wish more information was out about their health but I also understand they (the boys and their families) may not want everything to be so public. 

 

BBC - Future - Cave rescue: The dangerous diseases lurking underground

According to this article (and piggybacking off what @Howl and @Palimpsest already said), the main diseases they're concerned about are histoplasmosis, leptospirosis, and melioidosis.

I'm definitely not an infectious disease expert but find it super interesting. Bear with me, and please correct me if I'm wrong. 

The morbidity and mortality of these diseases are primarily due to identification, immunodeficiency, and proper treatment. We know the boys are immunocompromised because of stress and lack of hydration and nutrition. But because we know right off the bat (no pun intended) they were likely exposed to these infectious organisms, it takes the guesswork out of diagnosis and expedites treatment. Supportive care in the form of fluids, electrolytes, nutrition, etc, will hopefully help restore their immune systems while they are receiving antibiotics... fingers crossed they aren't facing anything too antibiotic resistant. 

As a healthcare worker in the US, I really only hear about histoplasmosis, usually in the context of immunodeficiency. IIRC it's an opportunistic infection in HIV + patents that, unfortunately, puts them in the diagnostic category of AIDS.

Slightly off topic, but toxoplasmosis is something I've encountered more, and by more I mean once (other than HIV + individuals on bactrim as prophylactic treatment). A few months ago I had an immunocompromised patient with a toxoplasmosis-related brain lesion. Watching the diagnosis and treatment regimen unfold was wild. She had an unfortunate allergy to sulfa and had to be treated with daraprim, which apparently costs about a gazillion dollars despite being older than dirt and super cheap to make.

If you get bored or a giant nerd like I am or just need a face to put on your dartboard, here's an article about how the drug became so expensive. Spoiler alert - it features a business man nicknamed "Pharma Bro," who is now a convicted felon and in prison.

Drug goes from $13.50 a tablet to $750, overnight

[Howl]

@LiterallyBananas, this may appeal to you nerd side; I find it ingenious to this day.  About twenty years ago, I went to a little caving convention (75 people or so) in South Texas.  Earlier that year, a group of Boy Scouts visited a cave, either in South Texas or northern Mexico, that was a known "histo cave".  They all contracted histoplasmosis, all became quite sick and some became very ill.  There were enough of them and they were sick enough that the episode found its way to the Center for Disease Control, who wanted some baseline information.  

At the caving convention, the CDC had set up a table at check-in, and gave everyone a scratch skin test for histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis (also called Valley Fever, dirt pneumonia), both fungal lung diseases.  The CDC folks read the test when people left on Sunday. My response to both was fairly robust (slightly raised reddened areas), and most Texas cavers there did test positive for histo.  

There's also something called blastomycosis (a yeasty fungi), but I'm not familiar with it.  

Several caver friends on fb have noted that it's not over 'til it's over.  At some point, surely after the monsoon season, people will go back in and clean up the cave, pulling out everything and anything that was left in the cave from the rescue and leave it in pristine condition. 

I know some of y'all might think of caves as creepy, awful places full of pests and disease (they're not), but these days, I'm much more concerned with contracting mosquito and tick borne illnesses that seem to be proliferating in an alarming way.  

 

 

[PennySycamore]

@Howl,  my dad grew up in south central Kentucky in karst country.  There were no caves of note in his hometown, but there would be sinkholes and his dog Pal went missing for a day or so because he fell in one.  Yeah, they were able to rescue Pal.  I are up hearing about Floyd Collins. We did eventually manage to do two trips to Mammoth Cave on visits to my grandparents.  I'd like to go back but I'd like to be able to walk through as I did when I was younger.  I'm short enough to not have to stoop on any passage, but I'm not sure about those Fat Man Miseries.