Bomb cracker costs man 3 of his fingers
Albert Rapatan and his family were celebrating the new year on a smallholding just outside the city and, as for many people, fireworks were part of the celebration.
POLOKWANE – A 29-year-old medical student from Dammam in Saudi Arabia, who visited his family in the city over the festive season, faces an uncertain future after he lost three fingers as a result of a bomb cracker exploding in his hand on New Year’s Eve.
Albert Rapatan and his family were celebrating the new year on a smallholding just outside the city and, as for many people, fireworks were part of the celebration.
“I lit the cracker and was about to throw it when I heard the explosion. At first I did not realise what had happened. It was only when I heard my wife scream as she looked at my hand that I realised that I was injured,” Rapatan recounted.
Rapatan was taken to the Mankweng Hospital where he was treated for burns. On Monday he received the news that could change his future. Three of his fingers on his right hand would be amputated as the damage was too great to save them.
He said he was a final year medical student at the Hussein Al-Ali Hospital in the Philippines and was unsure about the impact the amputation would have on his future.
“My hope is that I will be able to continue with my final exams and become a doctor. It has always been my dream and I just hope that this does not cost me my future,” Rapatan said.
His mother, Mary, said she had always been afraid of fireworks because of the noise they made. She said when she saw people under influence of alcohol handling fireworks, she expected the worst.
“I never thought my son would become a victim by his own hand,” she said.
Rapatan further said he decided to go public about his ordeal in order to warn young people how dangerous fireworks could be. “Rather safe than sorry,” he advised.
