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Burn victim discharged from hospital

MONT VERNON – The

Mont Vernon man seriously

injured in a fire in

Taiwan this summer has

been discharged from the

Taiwan hospital earlier

this week and will be flying

home.

Alex Haas, 27, was

burned over 90 percent

of his body during the fire

in June that injured more

than 500 people at a water

park.

Now he is staying in a

hotel and being cared for

by his parents, said his

cousin, Melanie Tamposi,

in an email.

Alex goes back to the

hospital every other day

for outpatient therapy,

she said, and is doing a

lot of physical therapy

and "walking, climbing

stairs and just trying to

stay as active as possible

without overdoing it.

"He’s pushing himself

as hard as he can because

he wants to resume ‘normal’

life as soon as possible,"

she said.

Friends and family are

raising money for Haas,

and the Go Fund Me website

says more than half

of the $200,000 goal has

been reached, from donations

from 1,502 people

and businesses.

Alex’s mother and father

have been in Taiwan,

and Leslie Haas reported

on Aug. 23 that he was

discharged.

"He will be going back

to the hospital on Monday

for his bandage changes

and physical therapy,"

Alex’s mother, reported

on social media. "He will

continue this every other

day until we go home …

Alex first and foremost

will need to rest and readjust

to his life with a lot

of rehabilitation."

Alex had been in Taiwan

teaching English

with the HESS International

Educational Group.

On June 26, about 1,000

spectators had been at

the Color Play Asia event

at the Formosa Fun Coast

water park, just outside

the capital Taipei when

a night of fun turned

nightmarish. The fire was

sparked by an accidental

explosion of colored theatrical

powder thrown

from a stage.

During the weeks following

the fire at least 10

of the victims died, and

of the 500 people injured,

more than 200 sustained

serious injuries.

In previous posts his

mother reported that visiting

doctors from Johns

Hopkins Burn Center

made a special trip to

MacKay Hospital in Taiwan

and "provided a

vote of confidence in the

Taiwanese doctors’ treatment

of Alex. We already

knew they were doing

great, but it was nice to

know nothing was lost in

translation."

One surgery involved

using skin from his foot

and calf to replace damaged

skin on his arms and

legs.

Tamposi said it will

probably take about a

year and a half until he is

able to get back to "working,

exercising, etc. full

time. The plan for when

he gets home is to check

in with a local hospital

to make sure his wounds

and everything are still in

good shape after the long

flight from Taiwan."

Support from people

has been vital to his recovery,

she said.

"The doctors, nurses,

and hospital staff as well

as the thousands praying

across the world have

also been major factors

in his recovery. We never

lost hope, even when we

were told he had a 10 percent

chance of survival.

As his family, we’ve been

overwhelmed by Alex’s

resilience and tenacity in

such a terrifying time."