From the Woolner family

On 28 December I set off for Thailand in an attempt to find my family and bring them home to Malta. I did find them and managed to re-unite my wife and two daughters in the same hospital in southern Thailand. At that time the only family to survive the tsunami disaster in that area as a complete family.

Although my wife was seriously injured and my daughters badly injured and greatly traumatised, we were together. The journey home was long and difficult and although Nancy, my wife succumbed to her injuries while in hospital in Germany we did make it home as a family.

This letter is an attempt to perform the impossible task of thanking all those who helped so unselfishly with deeds and thoughts during this very difficult time.

From the very beginning on 26 December on Phi Phi Island, the voluntary expatriates and Thais who immediately came into action, although injured themselves, saved my daughter Charmaine's life after she was buried under mounds of debris. The Thai air force air-lifted them to hospitals on the mainland and the voluntary aid workers gave 24-hour a day support by just talking or trying to contact relatives, in those first chaotic and stressful days. The Thai doctors and nurses who, under great stress, performed miracles caring for my girls and the many victims in the Maharaj hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat

During this time we were visited by representatives of the Maltese Foreign Office and the Consul for Malta in Bangkok, who organised temporary passports and offered support.

At this time my wife was in ICU and I could not imagine how we were ever going to get home. Suddenly, the German, Maltese, Emergency Aid doctors and crew arrived and with outstanding efficiency and speed, arranged transportation to Bangkok (by Thai Military airplane) where we were handed over to the German military contingency. Immediately we were put on their Med-evac flight and ,with nearly 100 other injured people were flown to Koblenz in Germany. Nancy my wife was in the ICU for the whole flight and received the most professional care possible.

In the Bundeswehrzentrallkrankunhaus Koblenz (Military Hospital) they received the most intense and modern treatment available. The sincerity of the surgeons, doctors and nurses and the tears they shed on the passing away of my wife, went beyond just professional duty.

During our stay in Germany the intervention of William Spiteri, Malta's Ambassador in Berlin,

and Wolfgang Lange, the Consul for Malta in Koln, lifted a great burden off my shoulders. William visited us from Berlin and kept daily contact to inquire on the recovery of my daughters and also my well being. Wolfgang was a constant visitor and was indispensable for arranging legal procedures. Both Wolfgang and William gave continuous moral support.

Christine Townsend from the British Consulate in Frankfurt and her staff were constant visitors to the hospital and provided the much needed clothes and support in the earlier days of arriving in a wintry Germany. She, like Wolfgang Lange, was present at the funeral, once again beyond the call of duty.

Ms Peters, the representative of the Catholic Chapel in the hospital, arranged for Nancy’s funeral and took over the many, many tasks needed at this difficult time. Her gentle talks and moral support were of the greatest help to my daughters and myself.

During this time many friends and relatives came to Germany to give comfort to the girls and myself and helped tremendously by just being there when we needed the strength to overcome our grief.

Eventually, when my daughters recovered, it was time to return home to Malta, which I must say, was of deep concern to me, as I had put off thinking about the logistics of getting my wife and injured daughters back to Malta.

Once again the burden was taken off my shoulders by the Foreign Office Malta, Air Malta personnel in Frankfurt and the Maltese Embassy in Berlin. All stepped in to provide VIP treatment, from Frankfurt to home and for this I express my thanks

Lastly, there is no way I can express our gratitude and thanks to relatives, friends, neighbours and acquaintances who, during this very difficult time, sent their condolences with flowers, cards, telephone and personal contact. The sincere thoughts and sadness they conveyed to us has been an experience we will never forget and put a little sunshine into our hearts in these dark days.

Our thoughts and thanks to you all.

Brian, Charmaine and Wendy Woolner