M'sian Who Fractured Her Spine On Turbulent SQ321 Flight Is Finally Home & Able To Walk
For more than 10 weeks, she was bedridden in a hospital in Bangkok.
Six months after the ill-fated Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 in May, 23-year-old Malaysian Hong Mun Ying is back home and on the path to recovery
According to The Straits Times, the university student was onboard the flight from London to Singapore on 21 May.
The flight made an emergency landing in Bangkok after it encountered extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin approximately 10 hours into its 13-hour journey.
The plane was said to have plunged 178 feet in 4.6 seconds, causing passengers who were not wearing their seatbelts to be thrown into the ceiling.
The incident led to one death and dozens injured.
Hong Mun Ying (seated) with her doctor and nurses at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok.
Image via Channel 8 News/Sin Chew Daily
Recalling the events on SQ321 that all happened in a matter of seconds, Hong said she had briefly unbuckled her seatbelt in her aisle seat to let a neighbouring passenger go to the toilet
The turbulence hit moments after, as she waited to be served her meal.
"The aroma of breakfast omelettes was the last thing I remember," she told The Straits Times in a recent interview from her home in Subang, Selangor.
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 after its emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport on 21 May.
Image via Reuters
Hong, who struck her head on the overhead luggage compartment, fractured her fifth and sixth thoracic vertebrae
For more than 10 weeks, she was bedridden in Bangkok's Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital.
Doctors had to place corrective titanium plates onto her spine and set her on a six-month course for recovery.
It took her about a month before she could sit up in bed, and another month to stand and take her first steps.
In August, she had to brace herself for a two-hour flight, during which she wore a back brace, back to Malaysia, despite having panic attacks about being back in a plane.
However, with encouragement from her parents, and her boyfriend and a nurse accompanying her onboard the plane, she made it home
Hong said she was lucky to have escaped complete paralysis.
"Initially, I was completely distraught. But after some time, I could reflect and feel very lucky for surviving.
"The doctor said I escaped more serious injuries and even paralysis if a different part of my spine was fractured," she explained.
Hong can now walk without assistance, but still requires help from her family for most activities of daily living.
She hopes to fully recover, both physically and mentally, to continue her studies in the UK by September 2025.
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