The Filipino domestic worker who fought for her life to escape from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades with her employer’s three-month-old baby is spending Christmas with her family back home after being treated for pneumonia.
While 28-year-old Rhodora Alcaraz’s time in intensive care is long behind her, she is still recovering from pneumonia and has been referred to a psychiatrist to help process her trauma.
The helper was earlier lauded by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr as a hero for her role in helping save a baby girl during last month’s fire at Wang Fuk Court.
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She returned to her hometown in San Pablo in southern Luzon, just southeast of Manila, in the company of her sisters last Tuesday.
The city of San Pablo is also home to Alcaraz’s six-year-old son and her partner, as well as her parents and siblings.
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Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, said Alcaraz had been fine when she arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport last week, but began feeling weak again on Saturday.
The charity manager, who has been communicating with Alcaraz via text, said the helper was still reliant on a wheelchair to get around and could not bathe or use the toilet without help.