Bomb victim still affected by trauma

Bomb victim still affected by trauma

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Sept. 9 blast outside the Australian Embassy in Kuningan,
South Jakarta, had not only taken the lower jaw of Mulyono, but
it had left horrible, vivid memories that has made him a
different man.

"Whenever he reads stories in newspapers or watches news on
television about the Kuningan bombing, he will begin to tremble
and break out in a cold sweat, and I can hear his heart beating
so fast," Mulyono's father, Sutrisman, told The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday.

An article recently published in a newspaper that described
the 35-year-old's condition had badly disturbed him, he added.

Sutrisman said it was only after a while that Mulyono, the
sixth of his eight children, was able to calm down.

The family then decided to insulate the small rented house in
a densely populated alley in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta,
where Mulyono and his wife Dewi live, from any news as well as
interviews.

"But he loves to read newspapers to kill the time ... His
friends from work and school often come to update him, which is
good because I can see from his face that he is very happy and
relieved to have his friends and relatives visiting," said the
father, who lives in a separate house nearby.

Mulyono, a staff member of Bank Danamon, was passing by the
embassy when the bomb exploded. He was admitted to Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) and was then sent to
Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore to get his jaw reconstructed at
the Australian government's expense.

Mulyono will return to Singapore on Nov. 7 for a final
checkup.

"He hasn't been able to talk until now ... maybe in three
weeks. He has to got to RSCM every three days to monitor
improvements after the surgery," said Sutrisman.

Sutrisman said that since his son was immediately sent to
Singapore, no psychologists or counselors had come to help
Mulyono through the trauma. "He's getting better because of all
the support he has received from family members and relatives,"
he said.

Other survivors are being assisted by Yayasan Pulih, a
foundation that focuses on helping bomb victims deal with post-
traumatic stress.

Indah Sulistyorini from the foundation acknowledged that they
were late in getting information on Mulyono, hence the foundation
was only able to send two counselors to his house on Tuesday.

"It is normal for a victim to be still struggling to let go of
a traumatic experience for up until six to seven weeks after the
incident. But if Mulyono is still traumatized after seven weeks,
then he should see a psychologist. However, each individual has
their own way of getting over a bad experience," Indah told the
Post.

If the victim could not get over the trauma after the period,
many symptoms -- including nightmares, waking up suddenly from
sleep, reexperiencing the incident, as well as fear of meeting
others -- would haunt them, she added.