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21 Year Old American Woman Recovers in Bangkok Hospital after Being Stabbed by Mugger

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Brook Drost, who teaches English in Bangkok recovers from her stab wounds in Bangkok Hospital

Brook Drost, who teaches English in Bangkok recovers from her stab wounds in Bangkok Hospital.

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BANGKOK -  A 21-year-old American woman is recovering in a Bangkok Hospital after she was stabbed by a mugger while walking from a taxi to her apartment in Bangkok.

Brook Drost, who teaches English in Bangkok, was headed home after an evening with friends when a stranger jumped off a motorbike in front of her.

“I could tell by the look on his face — a face so serious and intent on causing harm, that he was almost expressionless — something terrible was about to happen” she told the Recorder.

After knocking her to the ground, Drost said, the man grabbed for her gold braclet, but she pulled back and kicked at him as he bent over. It was then that the knife came out. Had I known he was armed, I would have given up without a fight she said.

The man stabbed her twice through her arm and the left side of her body, puncturing a lung.

Patrons and the owner of a café across the street rushed to her assistance. They brought her into the café, where they tended to her wounds and summoned an ambulance.

Brook’s is still recovering in the hospital and expects to be released soon, when her lung is fully expanded back to normal.

Thanks to more than $4,300 in contributions made to a GoFundMe campaign, her mother, Danyelle, will be able to fly to Thailand next week to help care for her. Drost said she’s expecting her mother to stay for two weeks.

“I have witnessed everyone’s willingness to go above and beyond for my mother and I, and it has truly taken my breath away,” she said. “People I have never met, people I have not spoken with in years, friends, family members; kindness knows no limits. Nothing could possibly express how grateful I am that my mom will be able to travel 9,000 miles across the globe to care for me in my time of healing; nothing is greater than a mother’s love.”

Drost moved to Thailand with her boyfriend, Myles Mastrototaro, last September to work for a company called Fun Language. The two spend their weekdays teaching English to 3- to 15-year-olds through activities like singing and games, and spend their weekends exploring the city and immersing themselves in the culture.

She said it’s unusual for a foreigner to be attacked in Thailand, so the police have been highly involved in her case.

“All of my Thai friends were speechless when they heard the news, because they had never heard of such a terrible act of violence being carried out on a foreigner, particularly in my neighborhood, which is known for being a quiet and safe business district,” she wrote.

After the attack, she spent the rest of the day in the trauma ward, with more than 15 police officers and detectives filtering in and out, taking her statement and description of the suspect.

Drost was moved to a private room later that night, and said although the road to recovery has been rough, she’s getting there.

A professional sketch artist visited her in the hospital to draw a composite of the suspect, and she’s hoping it will lead to an arrest.

After the attack, she said an overwhelming number of acts of kindness followed.

“My wonderful boss stayed at the hospital for nine hours, bringing me food and translating with the police; the Thai police force, detectives and tourist police have been investigating the situation tirelessly, obtaining security camera footage, phone records from my stolen phone and the chief of police even sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers,” she wrote. “

The thoughts and prayers sent from dozens of family members and friends has helped keep my positivity afloat, their care and concern for my well-being has truly been humbling. And of course, most importantly, the support of my amazing boyfriend, Myles, who has not left my side once; I would be lost without him.”

So at the end of the ordeal, Drost is still smiling. In retrospect, she said things could have been much worse, but she’s not going to jump on an airplane home any time soon.

Instead, she plans to stay in Thailand until the end of her contract in early 2017, and then return to Massachusetts. Because of the recovery process, she said she will miss about a month of work without pay.

“This is just a bump in a road that has otherwise been filled with happiness, adventure, friendship and fun; I’m not going to let it deter me away from that lifestyle,” she wrote.


The GoFundMe campaign for Drost can be found at www.gofundme.com/2a6ndt8b.

 

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