Three young boys whose parents drowned over the weekend trying to rescue two of them might have been heavily traumatized by the tragic incident, doctors have said, suggesting that social welfare units and the boys’ school watch over the trio to help them get through the trauma.
On Saturday, the three boys, who are in the third, fourth and fifth grade at elementary school, traveled from Chiayi City to Chiayi County’s Budai Township (布袋) with their parents to go fishing.
At about 2:18pm, the fourth-grader fell into the water. Upon hearing shouts of help coming from the youngest brother, who was nearby, the father and his eldest child went into the water to save the struggling boy.
When the fifth-grader began flailing as well, his mother dove into the water to rescue him, but instead found herself struggling to stay afloat.
The eldest and middle child were eventually rescued by people fishing nearby, who brought them to safety using fishing rods, but their parents drowned.
National Chiayi University department of counseling professor Chang Kao-pin (張高賓) said that the trauma of seeing their parents drown might cause the boys to replay the scene in their minds, which could lead to them developing hydrophobia — a fear of water.
The tragedy could also cause them to experience acute stress, Chang said, calling on their school’s counseling center to contact the children and arrange for psychiatric counseling immediately.
After conducting an assessment of their emotional state, the boys should undergo therapeutic processes involving art or games that are aimed at turning their negative emotions into more positive ones, Chang added.
Lee Lien-chi (李聯冀), a physician at Yangming Hospital’s department of psychosomatic medicine, said that when experiencing heavy pressure or dramatic life-changing events that affect the body and mind, people commonly start blaming themselves, ignoring the issue, or going into denial to avoid facing reality.
If someone experiencing these conditions must also deal with a worsening financial situation, it normally takes even longer for that individual to recuperate or come to terms with their situation, Lee said.
Taking into consideration that the three boys are anxious and scared, their material needs should be provided for to facilitate their recovery, and they should be temporarily sheltered from the painful memories of the event as much as possible, Lee said.
Lee Yi-chun (李憶君), an official with the Chiayi City Government’s social services division, said the city is appealing on the boys’ behalf to receive subsidies provided by the “Immediate Care and Concern” project, adding that it would help with the funeral arrangements for the children’s parents.
For the time being, the children are staying with relatives.
The school they attend said it has set up an account in the Ministry of Education’s name at Bank of Taiwan’s Chiayi branch to accept donations to fund the boys’ education.
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