"The earth moved like mad" Swiss home director worried about dementia patients in Thailand
After the earthquake in Southeast Asia, the director of an Alzheimer's care center for Swiss guests talks about dramatic moments - and how his team dealt with frightened residents.
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- The quake was also violent near Chiang Mai: a Swiss Alzheimer's care center was shaken badly, but fortunately remained largely unscathed.
- People with Alzheimer's or dementia found it difficult to come to terms with the event - the team is still dealing with the aftermath.
- The center, founded by Martin Woodtli, offers long-term care for Swiss people with Alzheimer's and dementia in Thailand.
"Thank you, I'm fine, I'm well," reports Martin Woodtli in an interview with blue News. When the earthquake hit northern Thailand, he was sitting in a restaurant. "Everything vibrated. At first I thought something was wrong with my circulation," he says.
But it quickly became clear that it was an earthquake. People ran out onto the street in panic and the restaurant emptied within seconds. "It was a scary moment. You completely lose your bearings."
He was particularly impressed by how subjectively long the shaking felt: "It seemed like an eternity. Although it was perhaps only ten or fifteen seconds, time stretched out." It was a feeling of powerlessness, he says. "You can't escape. It was a moment of complete helplessness. As if the ground was breaking away from under your feet. The earth moves like mad - and you can't do anything."
No damage, but psychological pressure
Martin Woodtli has been running the Baan Kamlangchay care center in Faham Village, a few kilometers north of Chiang Mai, for 20 years. Today, the center cares for around a dozen Swiss Alzheimer's and dementia patients, who are looked after around the clock by a team of three caregivers.
The damage to the Alzheimer's Center itself remained manageable. "Our houses remained stable, but the water in the pool spilled over violently, it looked like a flood at first. But more importantly, all of our residents remained physically unharmed."
Psychologically, however, the quake was a huge burden for many. Two guests were very frightened, reports Woodtli. For people with dementia, such an exceptional situation is particularly unsettling: "They sense that something is wrong, but can't put their finger on it. This leads to deep insecurity."
Hospital beds moved outside
Some of those affected were also immobile and limited in their orientation - they were therefore dependent on the help of their carers without being able to escape themselves.
Martin Woodtli explains that some hospitals in Chiang Mai moved their beds and patients outside without further ado out of fear of collapsing buildings. Cooperation with the authorities has also gone well so far.
However, he finds the solidarity among the people after the earthquake particularly impressive: "People immediately help each other wherever they can. You stand together, that's worth a lot."
Fear of aftershocks
Although the situation in Chiang Mai has calmed down somewhat in the meantime, Martin Woodtli expects longer-term effects - especially on an emotional level. "This will probably resonate with some people for a while," he says.
He is also impressed by the behavior of his team: "Our supervisors were also very scared - but they looked after our guests in this extreme situation with exceptional professionalism and empathy."
At that moment, Martin Woodtli briefly interrupts the interview. He wants to make sure how a passing resident, who had shown clear signs of anxiety during the earthquake in the morning, is doing. When he speaks to him, however, the man seems unimpressed. "What do you mean?" he asks in surprise. He has obviously already forgotten about the quake.
For Martin Woodtli, this moment is exemplary of life with dementia: the acute fear was real, but the memory of it faded just a few hours later. He now wishes one thing above all for Thailand and Myanmar: "That we are spared aftershocks."
