Handhu

Handhu’s Story

Handhu, which means “Moon” in Dhivehi (quite the fitting name for a Ramadan rescue!), was brought onto the boat and then carefully disentangled. Once the rescuers realised that Handhu had a deep laceration to her right front flipper, they promptly called us for a veterinary check. It was decided she would need to be seen and assessed.

After a very long day of travels by different speedboats and a seaplane, Handhu was admitted to the Rescue Centre in the late evening of 18th of April. Her X-rays are looking OK – we found no fractures, which is great news. The veterinary team started Handhu on supportive therapy and pain relief, preparing her for a future surgery on that affected limb. Handhu has been resting in our ICU tank and adjusting to her new environment.

1 May 2023
Handhu has been resting on the bottom, swimming around her tank during the day and interacting with the enrichment devices we provide her with. Her appetite has improved and she loves to forage for her prawns and fish.

On April 20^th Handhu underwent surgery to deep clean her injuries and the underlining tissues were looking well. We started her on laser therapy to promote a faster healing and are hopeful she will only require a couple more procedures to fully heal her lesion.

13 June 2023
Handhu underwent a couple of procedures to clean her injury on the right front flipper and it has been healing nicely since. Unfortunately, as it happens to many of our entangled patients, she developed a bone infection on her right elbow which is preventing her from using that limb. We are treating it aggressively and hoping Handhu will respond to it. Keep sending her good healing energies!

9 July 2023
Handhu’s injury on the right front flipper has fully healed now, however we continue with aggressive therapy to target the bone infection in his right elbow and left shoulder. The past couple of X-rays have shown that the disease is stabilising. Handhu has also started using his flippers slightly more which is encouraging to see. 

13 August 2023
Handhu’s bone infections appear to be stable for the moment. He started using his front flippers a bit better, especially his left front flipper. However, at the beginning of the month a new lesion appeared on the left hind flipper which reduced his range of motion there. We are monitoring it closely.

12 September 2023
Handhu’s bone infection on his shoulders and left hip continue to be stable and he has slowly been regaining mobility on his front flippers. We are monitoring him closely and tailoring his therapy accordingly.

10 October 2023
Handhu’s bone infection in his shoulders and left hip is stable. He is moving his front flippers much better and is also beginning to use his left hind flipper. While he’s making good progress, he continues to keep the team on their toes by changing his food preferences. We are monitoring him closely and will adapt his therapy accordingly.

14 November 2023
Since Handhu’s blood work had been clear for the past few weeks, we have discontinued all his medication. Handhu is still receiving cold laser therapy and routine physiotherapy on his front flippers to improve his mobility. While we are happy to see him get better, we are continuing to monitor his health closely.

12 December 2023
Handhu has been off medication for the past month and continues to have clear blood analysis. We are giving him cold laser therapy and routine physiotherapy on his front flippers. Meanwhile, his mobility on his left front and hind flippers has improved substantially with time. 

8 January 2024
Handhu continues to be one of our most charismatic patients, mastering the art of the “dolce far niente”. Our commitment to his well-being includes regular cold laser therapy and physiotherapy sessions for his front flippers.

11 February 2024
Handhu has been much more relaxed ever since transitioning from sharing a tank with Nakaiy to sharing with the lovely Aisha. Although sea turtles are typically solitary creatures, the two are often seen resting close to each other. Our ongoing efforts include providing Handhu with cold laser therapy and physiotherapy sessions aimed at enhancing motion in his front flippers, which have been yielding positive results.

7 March 2024
Today finally the big day arrived: Handhu got released! Handhu was cleared for release a couple of weeks ago, but the bad weather kept us waiting. Finally, today we made it happen! We took him to the edge of the atoll near a lively reef where he can spend the first couple of days getting situated before starting his big migration. It was an incredible moment to see him swim off where he belongs!