Hong Kong Mirror accident: previously paralysed dancer can speak, chew and swallow normally, father says
- Reverend Derek Li, father of dancer Mo Li, reveals breakthrough, saying his son has regained functions by ‘proactively facilitating the aggressive treatment every day’
- He suffered severe spinal injuries last year when four-by-four-metre screen suspended from a gantry above stage plunged to ground, hitting him and fellow performer
A Hong Kong dancer who had been paralysed after a giant screen fell on him during a concert by Cantopop boy band Mirror could now speak, chew and swallow normally, his father on Saturday said.
Reverend Derek Li Shing-lam, the father of Mo Li Kai-yin, 28, revealed the breakthrough, saying his son had regained the functions by “proactively facilitating the aggressive treatment every day”.
But Mo Li was still unable to move unaided and had to rely on others for “all other aspects of daily life”, he said in his weekly prayer letter to supporters.
Injured Hong Kong Mirror dancer Mo Li moves fingers after acupuncture: father
“He looks forward to being cured as soon as possible so that he does not need to depend on others,” the father added.
The elder Li thanked the hospital team for their professionalism and treatment in helping his son’s recovery over the past 10 months. The Post has learned the hospital is the CUHK Medical Centre, the city’s newest, run by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“He has been undergoing nearly six hours of physiotherapy every day,” the pastor said.
Mo Li has been using a THERA-Trainer, a piece of therapy exercise equipment, at the facility to stimulate the use of his limbs, which doctors said was “beneficial to functional recovery and improvement of motor skills”, according to Li.
Hong Kong dancer hurt in Mirror tragedy ‘regaining some control’ over bowel muscles
The dancer suffered severe spinal injuries on July 28 last year after a four-by-four-metre (13-by-13-foot) screen suspended from a gantry above the stage at the Hong Kong Coliseum plunged to the ground, hitting him and fellow performer Chang Tsz-fung.
The pastor regarded the breakthrough as a sign from God, according to his Christian faith, as he compared his son’s condition at present with that of a year ago.
In November last year, Mo Li’s stoma had just been removed and it was the first time in three months that no tubes “had been stuck in his mouth and neck”, according to his father.
In the same month, Hong Kong police arrested five people in connection with the concert accident after officers found some equipment was up to seven times the weight declared.
