A paratrooper was yesterday cleared to transfer from a hospital in Taipei to Kaohsiung, his condition greatly improved 10 months after being seriously injured in a parachute jump during a drill in May last year.
Paratrooper Chin Liang-feng (秦良丰) of the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command was injured on May 17 last year when his parachute failed to fully open after he jumped from a C-130 flying at 396m during a rehearsal for the Han Kuang military exercises.
A hospital spokesman at the time said that Chin was seriously injured and in a level seven to eight coma on the Glasgow coma scale, with three being the worst condition and 15 normal.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chin’s doctors have since said he is recovering well enough that he can now walk with assistance.
As a result, he was cleared by doctors at Taipei’s Tri-Service General Hospital, where he has been hospitalized since June 25, to transfer to the hospital’s Kaohsiung branch, which is closer to his home.
Watched by his medical team and surrounded by cameras, Chin yesterday left the hospital in a wheelchair and boarded a high-speed train to Kaohsiung.
As Chin waved to reporters, his father, Chin Tien-jen (秦天人), thanked the medical team for his son’s miraculous recovery.
“This is a day we have been waiting for a long time,” he said.
Chin Tien-jen wrote on Facebook that although his son still faces a long rehab in Kaohsiung, he sees the transfer as a positive sign and a new beginning.
“Someone told me the recovery of Liang-feng is a miracle, so I would like to thank the heavens for giving me back my son,” he wrote.
Chen Yuan-hao (陳元皓), a member of the medical team, said Chin Liang-feng has been doing well and has been undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
The therapy has worked well, as he was originally deemed nearly paralyzed after the fall and needed a ventilator to breathe.
“He can now eat on his own with his right hand, use a phone and write,” Chen said, adding that with assistance he can even walk.
Calling Chin Liang-feng’s recovery very rare, Tsai Chien-sung (蔡建松), another member of the medical team, praised the paratrooper for his perseverance and mental strength during the recovery process.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said Chin Liang-feng was promoted to the rank of corporal late last year in recognition of his perseverance during rehab.
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