Jose Salvador Alvarenga, 37, from El Salvador has gathered so much media attention since he came ashore after being stranded in Pacific Ocean for 13 months. Sources said that he has been moved to another place away from the media as he waits for his next flight.
Alvarenga went fishing in December 2012 and never returned Mexico. His family feared he was dead and even him thought he would die out in the ocean. However, his heavily damaged boat hit the Marshall Islands after 13 month. Two native women saw him and they were screaming because all he had on was torn underwear.
So how did he manage to survive for 13 months? He claimed he did that by eating raw fish and birds while drinking turtle blood, seawater, and urine. So aside from the stress, he also needs to recover from dehydration and back problems, The Telegraph reports. Another issue he had to deal with is the skepticism behind his survival story since it violates the Rule of Threes for Survival: on a harsh condition, man can survive without shelter for three days, three more days without water, and three weeks without food.
Alvarenga had been staying in the Marshall Islands Resort Hotel in Majuro and media had been waiting to talk to him before his return flight. The security in the place had been strict and more are coming but sources of CNN said that he is no longer there. They didn't disclose though where he was relocated for security purposes.
Dr. Kennar Briand, chief of staff at Majuro Hospital in the Marshall Islands, confirmed that Alvarenga is ready to travel back to El Salvador since his physical and mental conditions have shown improvement already. "He was a bit 'off,' maybe it's due to him being in the open for so many months and not talking to people, but I think he is finally getting it back," Briand said to CNN.
However, that wasn't the assessment of officials who met him during a conference.
Retired doctor Franklyn House was able to speak to Alvarenga in Spanish and believes that he saw symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome in him. "The first couple of days he was in the hospital, he was engaged and normal," he told AFP. "Thursday he showed signs of post-traumatic stress."
It is not yet certain if this condition has something to do with the cancelation of his return flight. The Marshall Islands immigration decided to postpone it and has not announced the new schedule yet.
