A Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) employee who was electrocuted on Tuesday last week while working to repair lines in typhoon-affected Chiayi County passed away this morning after his family decided to take him off of life support.
Lee Yuan-han (李元瀚) was taken off life support after several days of rescue efforts, his father told a news conference at Chi Mei Medical Center in Tainan alongside hospital staff.
This would allow him to maintain his final dignity and fulfill his wish of becoming an organ donor, Lee’s father said.
Photo: Wang Han-ping, Taipei Times
His father said he could not bear to see Lee’s vital signs only barely maintained by advanced medical equipment or extend his suffering.
He also expressed his gratitude to hospital personnel, Taipower, President William Lai (賴清德) and many others for their concern.
“Yuan-han, Dad loves you and will always be proud of you,” Lee’s father said while choking back tears before leaving with hospital staff.
It is expected that Lee will be returned to Chiayi accompanied by Taipower staff.
Lee suffered a high-voltage electric shock while repairing lines, resulting in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, intensive care doctor Liu Hao-hsun (劉浩熏) said.
He managed to regain a faint heartbeat after emergency resuscitation, but after a week of nonstop treatment, he sustained permanent damage to his major organs, Liu said.
The president felt deep sorrow upon hearing the news, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said this morning.
Kuo expressed Lai’s sincere appreciation for Lee’s efforts and perseverance across more than 10 years of work at Taipower, where he spared no effort in passing on his skills and determination to new employees.
Lai expressed hope that his family would find strength at this time, adding that he admired their decision to donate Lee’s organs so that his love would continue into the world, Kuo said.
Lai would issue a commendation order to Lee on behalf of the country to thank him for his selfless dedication and pay his respects, Kuo said.
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