Thai football players crave food, wait until home next week

The 12 boys and their football coach rescued after being trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand are recovering well and are eager to eat their favorite comfort foods after their planned release from a hospital next week.

Thailand's Minister of Public Health, Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, said Saturday that the young boys shown at a press conference on Saturday, were wearing surgical masks, a protection against infections been taken since the last of last year. 39 of them were removed from Tham Luang cave on Tuesday. Doctors said that Friday, when the videos are recorded, would be the last day they should wear them.

Panumas Saengdee, nicknamed Mig, is 13 years old and is a defender of the Wild Boars football team. He and his teammates posed for pictures Friday at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital (Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital via AP)

The boys, ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were all saved from the cave last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, ending an 18-day event.

"All 13 people, their physical bodies are strong and healthy, with respect to infections, by medical badessments of the early days, perhaps some of them who had minor pneumonia but now everything is cleared, no fever, "said Piyasakol. Several have also been reported earlier recovering from minor infections to the lungs and middle ear.

Most of the boys, who were shown in their hospital bed, seemed relaxed and began their brief statements with a "wai". hands raised at chest level with palms together.

Some also gave the sign of victory on both hands and raised their fists. One of the 14-year-olds, Ekarat Wongsukchan, whose nickname is Biw, has playfully lifted both his arms in a boxer's victory position while we were hearing a laugh in the background

"Hello, I'm calling Biw, I'm fine, I want to thank all those who are worried," he said, all 13 of them offered thanks for the support that & ### They were donated.

Asked by an off camera interviewer what they were eager to eat, their wish list included slowly cooked pork leg with steamed rice, crispy fried pork, red roasted pork, sushi, steak and KFC

Psychologists spoke to children, with children, their mental well-being is good today. – Thai Minister of Public Health Piyasakol

Adul Samon, a stateless person 14 -Old sent to Thailand for his studies by his ethnic minority parents on the other side of the border re in Myanmar, spoke in Thai and then English: "Hello, I'm Adul, now I'm fine, thank you very much, thank you Adul is perhaps the best known of the boys because he was the one who spoke English in the video taken inside the cave when the team members were found by two British divers on July 2, nearly 10 days. after being trapped by the floods.

In the hospital video, he also keeps apere, apparently a drawing of his teammates, that he reports one by one.

Public Health Minister Piyasakol gave a prognosis for boys, and said: "Psychologists have spoken to children, with children, about their mental wellbeing" Although they are about to leave in the coming days … they are not as strong as a normal person, they still need to rest and improve their health and their bodies, "he added.

A hospital report indicated that while boys continue to recover, they remain susceptible to infectious diseases.To avoid mental stress, they should spend at least the next month alone with the family. and friends, avoiding media encounters that could trigger symptoms of post-traumatic stress, the statement said.