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| Marilou Abunda (center) with friends. |
By The SUN
The Filipina domestic worker who was hit by a taxi which ran
out of control in Aberdeen has opened her eyes but remains unresponsive and is
not yet out of danger, a medical staff at Queen Mary Hospital in Pokfulam said
on May 30.
Marilou Abunda, 46, opened her eyes the previous night after
being in a coma for more than two days, according to the staff who was keeping
watch on the patient at the hospital’s intensive care unit.
“She is not yet fully conscious. She is not yet responding
to our commands and cannot yet communicate,” the medic said.
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Some of Abunda’s friends and townmates from Hilongos, Leyte
who were visiting saw that her eyes were slightly open and her pupils, especially
the left one, were moving. She could also already move her legs and bend her
knees.
But the maid’s face was still swollen, and the right side of
her head had been bandaged following an operation shortly after she was
admitted on May 27, to drain blood from a brain injury.
The staff said the patient may need another operation to
find out which part of her brain was damaged and was causing Abunda’s inability
to respond or communicate.
Asked if her condition had improved, the staff replied, “No,
she is not yet stable. She is still not out of danger.”
Her employer, Chris Lee, confirmed the news in a text
message, saying the helper remains critical, and still needs a lot of care.
Abunda, who has been separated from her husband for years
and is childless, has worked for Lee and
his family for the past 16 years.
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She had just taken her 10-year-old ward to school and was in
the middle of an island waiting to cross Aberdeen Main Road at about 9am when
the taxi driven by a 70-year-old local man plowed through her and other
pedestrians.
The accident happened just four days after Abunda celebrated
her 46th birthday.
Police told The SUN Abunda was conscious when taken to
hospital, and managed to say she had hurt her head, before apparently lapsing
into a coma.
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Photos from the crash scene show the steel pole with the
traffic light at the pedestrian crossing had landed partly on Abunda’s body.
She appeared unconscious, with her head resting atop a pool of blood.
Another woman lay unconscious beside her, while an elderly
woman is on her other side, sitting up and apparently unharmed.
The police said a total of seven people were injured in the
crash, including the 70-year-old taxi driver, who suffered head injuries.
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Two women, including Abunda, were admitted in critical
condition.
Media reports said the taxi careened out of control on
Aberdeen Main Road, and plowed into a group of people standing at a pedestrian
crossing, before hitting a steel railing and coming to a halt.
However, police said no arrests have been made, and their
investigation is continuing.
Among the first to visit Abunda at the hospital and extend
help was welfare officer Marivic Clarin from the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration.
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Clarin helped alert Abunda’s family in the Philippines about
her condition, and has been working with Consul Paul Saret to get the patient’s
sister-in-law Jocelyn and niece Loriepel, to fly to Hong Kong as soon as
possible to comfort her.
Consul Saret has advised the relatives to go to the
Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers
Affairs in Manila to apply for funding for a humanitarian visit to Hong Kong
after being told the employer could not shoulder their expenses.
Once their request for funding is approved, Consul Saret said their air tickets would be
booked right away.
Clarin said Abunda’s friends had told her the victim
sustained the most injuries because she had apparently tried to shield an
elderly woman from the runaway taxi.
Abunda’s friends were especially disconsolate because just a
day before the tragic accident, they had joined the victim in celebrating her
birthday at their hangout in Central.
According to Elenita Rubello, Abunda’s friend and townmate
from Hilongos, Leyte, the celebration was simple but fun, with the group
sharing food they had prepared and taking photos with the celebrator before
they parted ways in the evening.
Rubello said she and her friends only learned about the
tragedy late last night, when she saw a message sent from Abunda’s phone
saying: “This is Malou’s boss. Pls call me. Urgent.”
Rubello immediately returned the call and learned the sad
news. Early the next morning, it was
passed on to Rodelia Villar, founder of the Domestic Workers Corner online
group, who immediately contacted the Consulate and The SUN to get help.
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