Father Stayed Outside Cave for 3 Weeks While Son & Teammates Were Trapped Inside
For nearly three weeks, the world held its breath, waiting to find out what would become of the soccer team trapped inside the Tham Luang caves in Thailand.
The team went missing on June 23, was found alive on July 2, and had to exit the cave one-by-one over the course of three days, in one of the most gripping and desperate rescue attempts this generation has perhaps ever seen.
The wait was agonizing for people across the globe — people who didn’t have any direct connection to the boys or their families.
So one can only imagine the feelings of angst felt by those closest to the Wild Boar soccer team.
Adisak Wongsukchan is the father of 14-year-old Akarat Wongsukchan. Akarat is the Wild Boar’s goalkeeper, also known by his nickname, Bew.
For almost three weeks, Adisak waited at the cave site, refusing to leave until every last boy and diver was out of the cave.
The devoted father worried about his son, wondered how he was coping in the dark cave, wondering if he was strong enough to make the escape.
Akarat was among the second group of boys rescued from the cave. Adisak, along with the rest of Thailand, was bursting with relief at the news that eight boys had now been successfully rescued.
He could have raced off the mountain to wait at the hospital in Chiang Rai, hoping to glimpse his boy. But he didn’t.
Adisak, like the rest of the Wild Boar families, was caught in the tension of not knowing what would happen to the remaining four boys and their 25-year-old assistant coach.
And so Adisak stayed, a sign of solidarity, hope and support for the parents waiting to hear their own boys’ fate.
“I promised the other parents, the five, I will wait and come out together,” Adisak told CNN. “I’m not going to leave them. We’re going to go together.”
At long last, Thai Navy SEALs and international divers emerged with the final four boys and the soccer coach, all alive. It was a sigh of relief heard around the world.
It was now time, now appropriate for Adisak to race down the mountain. He stopped and thanked the hundreds of volunteers along the way, appreciative of everyone’s heartfelt efforts to bring all the boys home.
“I want to hug him,” Adisak said, eager to see his son. “And I want to tell him that I’m happy.”
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