My Lifestory

I was asked by some of my frequent readers of my blog to write a short story about my physical disability, or should I say, my physical challenge as I do not view it as a disability.

I was born with this condition, known as cerebral palsy on 18 Dec 1979. The reasons for this condition were my mum had slipped & fell while mopping the floor when she was pregrant with me and she found that I was not moving in her womb when she went to work the next day. She checked into the hospital and the doctor told her I was to be delivered early as there is swelling in my brain & my ligaments had contracted. I was delivered about 2 months early and stayed in the incubator at ICU for about 6 months.

I was supposed to have an operation on my brain to remove the swelling in my brain. But thank heavens, my swelling miraclously subsided on the day when the operation was to be performed. According to my mum, she had chanted the Japanese Buddhist Sutra after hearing from someone about it. As the prayers were answered, she began to believe in this faith religiously.

When I was 4 years old, the decision was taken to have my first operation as I was still unable to walk. The operation was only able to make me stand and walk, but I was not able to squat or sit. Therefore another operation was done in Brunei in 1985 to enable me to sit and squat. The operation was done in Brunei as my dad was posted there to work for about 7 years.

I didn't attend Singapore kindergarten education, but went straight to Pri 1 when I was eligible for it.

I didn't do well for my PSLE, as a result, I got posted to a neigbourhood school that was located near where I lived. I did my O Levels twice before clearing it, getting into Diploma In Accountancy @ Ngee Ann Polytechnic on appeal. I still remember the time I was forced to go back to school by my mum when I failed.

I still served my NS at Sembawang Air Base for 2.5 years as a clerk despite my condition. I was always picked at by some officers, especially those with high qualifications and that of a different race. I still remember I was picked at even till the last month when I was going ORD. This experience really changed my outlook about life.

I hope that the few fans of my blog will enjoy reading this. This is just a summarised version of the whole story.