Bedridden old woman carried 9km through rain to the bank

KANCHANABURI - Neighbours carried a bedridden 90-year-old woman on a stretcher for about 9 kilometres through heavy rain so she could rectify a problem with her ATM card at a bank branch in Sangkhla Buri district. The incident was reported initially by Facebook user “Glai Ta Tae Glai Teen”, who on Monday posted photographs showing grandma Seapuey Thongphachangon being carried from Ko Sadeung village in Laiwo subdistrict. (continues below) Grandma Seapuey is moved from her bed onto a stretcher, before being carried 9km through heavy rain to the bank. The team of helpers also included village security officials, wildfire officials, health volunteers and local residents. They helped carry Yai Seapuey from her remote village home to Kong Mong Tha, and from there by pickup to Krungthai Bank’s Sangkhla Buri branch. (continues below) Transferring Mrs Seapuey to a vehicle after the 9km trip. The journey was deemed necessary because her ATM card could no longer be used to withdraw money. Her family normally uses the card to withdraw funds each month to cover her care, according to one of the officials involved. The post drew widespread praise online, with many users commending the community for helping the elderly woman while also calling for banks and authorities to consider making financial services more accessible for people living in remote areas. Ko Sadeung is located in the western section of Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. Access to the community becomes particularly difficult during the rainy season, when roads often become impassable. (continues below) Volunteers carry Mrs Seapuey across the bridge, through the rain. The same isolation has created challenges for residents requiring urgent medical treatment, with patients sometimes facing lengthy and difficult journeys to Sangkhla Buri Hospital. Similar cases have previously highlighted the risks faced by communities living in remote areas during the wet season.