Four years on, officer caught in southern attack remains in coma

Pornprasit, now 33, was one of six police officers injured in a September 2013 attack that left five cops dead.
His father, Thaworn Kwankhao, resigned his post as senior chief petty officer in the Navy so that his retirement pension could be used to take care of Pornprasit.
He and his wife Ratree moved their comatose son to their home district, Ron Pibul in Nakhon Si Thammarat, and have been taking care of him personally.
Pornprasit is able to breathe on his own but relies on a feeding tube and is unable to communicate. His two young children come to visit regularly.
Thaworn said various agencies provided financial assistance following the attack, but currently the family receives only Bt5,000 a month. A hospital gives them a quantity of milk every six months.
“It’s not enough, so we struggle to keep up with expenses without asking for any more help,” he said. “We still hope our son will recover.”
The family’s plight was recently reported on the social media without their knowledge, and Thaworn is grateful to people for trying to help and sending donations their way.
At the same time, though, he was disheartened by accusations that the family was “using” Pornprasit’s condition for financial benefit.
Thaworn acknowledged that what happened to his son – and the deaths and wounding of other police officers and soldiers serving in the southern border provinces – gradually fade from the public’s memory.
Parents and other family members cannot forget or give up, however, he said. They have to keep on taking care of them and keep on hoping that the injured will make a full recovery.