Huang Po-wei (黃博煒) trains five times a week with a coach, crunching out 300 sit-ups and pulling on weights — all in anticipation of the day when he can strap on a new pair of legs.
The 23-year-old engineering student was among the most severely burned people in the explosion and ensuing fire at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park on June 27 last year, which killed 15 and injured hundreds.
Huang’s life changed forever that night, when a blast ripped through the crowd of about 1,000 people as colored corn starch sprayed on young partygoers ignited.
Photo: SAM YEH / AFP
Event organizer Lu Chung-chi (呂忠吉) yesterday was sentenced to four years and 10 months over the disaster.
However, Huang does not want to dwell on the past — instead he has decided to rebuild his life.
With burns to more than 90 percent of his body, he opted to have both his legs amputated from below the knee and later his right arm to stave off infection. He spent more than 200 days in hospital.
The ambitious student would have graduated from Ming Chi University of Technology in New Taipei City this spring. His studies are on hold, but Huang says there is no time for self-pity.
“The strength and exercise training I’m doing now is to prepare for prosthetics,” he said after a rehabilitation session in Taipei.
“Maybe it’s not something I can do today and see results tomorrow, but as long as I work hard at it, there will be some progress,” said Huang, his face and neck still marked by raw pink burns. “It was my choice to have the amputation. Since I chose to go down this road, I don’t have a reason to quit.”
More than 200 people were left seriously injured and while all have now been discharged from hospital, many make return trips for surgeries and treatments.
As parents struggle to cope with grief and their children’s injuries, some are throwing themselves into a campaign for justice — they say the maximum five-year sentence for negligence causing death is not long enough and also want to see others brought to court over the blasts.
“We feel prosecutors didn’t take the stance of seeking justice for the people. We can’t accept that,” said Su Jin-fa, 60, whose 23-year-old son, Su Chia-sheng (蘇家陞), died. “These for-profit businesses putting on large-scale events aren’t placing enough importance on public safety.”
Still in deep mourning, Su says staying focused on the case and his Buddhist faith are helping.
“After all, there’s still a long life to be lived,” he said.
The loss is a heavy burden.
“My son’s death is like taking away half of my life,” he said.
The road ahead for Huang is tough, having to relearn the most simple skills and movements, but he insists on doing it himself when he can — eating with a utensil strapped to his bound left hand, browsing his cellphone with a touch pen and using a wheelchair to get around.
He has even taken trips on Taipei’s mass rapid transit system.
“I was never afraid of how people would look at me,” Huang said. “I don’t see why I have to hide away at home.”
Physically, it will be a long time before Huang can use prosthetics.
However, he has already done some research into the kind he wants — ones that can enable him to jump and run once more.
“All of this hard work is so I can stand up again,” he said. “And when I can stand up again, I can welcome a new life.”
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