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Mary Ann Benitez

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.
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.
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.

Abdon-Tellez said the helper was at one point taken to the Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Pampanga by ambulance, and spent four days there being treated for low potassium levels and pneumonia. She was discharged on Tuesday evening.
“I decided to go home since I felt a bit better, I can walk by myself and also because I cannot get enough rest or sleep in hospital. The doctor let me go home,” Alcaraz said in a text message seen by the Post.
“I was told to go back for follow-up checks because my CT scan showed some findings. I was told by the doctor that I had developed pneumonia and that I needed to see a psychiatrist because I had trauma and anxiety.”
A spokesman for the Philippines’ consulate in Hong Kong on Wednesday confirmed that Alcaraz was discharged from hospital in the country the day before, with a follow-up health check scheduled for January.
Romulo Victor M Israel Jnr, the country’s top envoy in Hong Kong, told the Post last week that Alcaraz’s injuries were “more internal”, affecting her respiratory system.
She inhaled carbon monoxide during the fire and was placed in intensive care at Hong Kong’s United Christian Hospital to have soot removed from her lungs.
Alcaraz was the only Filipino helper to suffer life-threatening injuries in the Tai Po fire. Another domestic worker from the country and nine Indonesians died in the blaze.
Last month’s fire engulfed seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight high-rise towers, lasting for 43 hours and claiming 161 lives.


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Rhodora Alcaraz (front right) is still covering after last month’s deadly fire in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

The fire engulfed seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight high-rise towers, lasting for 43 hours and claiming 161 lives. Photo: Sam Tsang

Philippines’ Marcos lauds helper returning home after deadly Hong Kong fire

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr welcomes Rhodora Alcaraz at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Photo: Handout

Romulo Victor M Israel Jnr (second from right), the country’s top diplomat in Hong Kong, takes part in a moment of silence for victims of the fire. Photo: Dickson Lee

Filipino helper on her second day of work when Tai Po fire hit; escapes with baby

Rhodora Alcaraz is now in a stable condition but remains in the ICU. Photo: Handout

Alcaraz wrapped the baby in a damp blanket and escaped the flames. Photo: Handout

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Rhodora Alcaraz earlier lauded by Philippine president as hero for her role in helping save three-month-old baby during last month’s fire


Rhodora Alcaraz earlier lauded by Philippine president as hero for her role in helping save three-month-old baby during last month’s fire.


The Philippines

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Hong Kong society

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr

Helper who survived Hong Kong fire recovers in Philippines for Christmas

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rhodora Alcaraz earlier lauded by Philippine president as hero for her role in helping save three-month-old baby during last month’s fire

Rhodora Alcaraz earlier lauded by Philippine president as hero for her role in helping save three-month-old baby during last month’s fire