Filled with pain, fuelled by willpower

Filled with pain, fuelled by willpower
PHOTO: Filled with pain, fuelled by willpower

SINGAPORE - He never gave up, even when he first lost most of his limbs.

And he is not about to give up now, though he can barely walk 200m in 20 minutes.

Many remember navy serviceman Jason Chee from a horrific mishap on Dec 10, 2012.

He lost both legs and his left hand in an accident involving a motorised winch and a rope on board a ship he was working on.

He fell into a two-week coma after that. When he woke up, he knew life would never be the same again.

But he went on to represent Singapore in this year's ASEAN Para Games in Myanmar.

His tenacity touched many, including Junior Chamber International (JCI), a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs. They shortlisted him to be among 10 Outstanding Young Persons, aged 18 to 40, who excel and create positive change in their chosen fields.

"The accident happened (for a reason). It was fated," he told The New Paper yesterday.

He is just 31. He has many dreams to accomplish, such as getting that university degree "so I can finally throw the (mortar board) into the air, like I promised my (late) mother".

Mr Chee's quest to walk again is a tough one. But despite his struggles with rehabilitation, he is forging on. "Walking with prosthetics is five times harder than using your legs," Mr Chee said. "I feel very tired using my upper body muscles to walk 200m." The pace is often slow and it takes up to 20 minutes.

When physical strength fails, the son of a retired vegetable seller calls on sheer grit to push all 12kg of carbon fibre forward. "The prosthetics are so heavy because of the knee joints. After a while, my shirt will be stained with sweat," he recounted. "Then I'll rest for five to 10 minutes, stand up and continue again."

Perseverance

Perseverance

Despite the struggles, he perseveres.

To "build endurance", he wills himself through 5½ hours of prosthetics training at Thye Hua Kwan Hospital from Monday to Saturday. MEDALLIST

The ASEAN Para Games table-tennis bronze medallist spends Monday to Wednesday nights training at the Table Tennis Association for the Disabled. Weekends are spent on archery training at a community centre.

He is relishing the upcoming air-rifle training at Bukit Timah and maybe, just maybe, a shot at donning national colours during the next Para Games on home ground.

"Winning a medal is not important. (What's) important is representing Singapore and making the nation proud," Mr Chee said.

That aside, the Mathematics undergraduate at UniSIM is also resuming his studies and completing the required modules to graduate in three to five years.

Though "very surprised" to be nominated, Mr Chee is happy at the opportunity to give back to society.

"Many Singaporeans helped me with the recovery process. I'm happy I can inspire disabled people through what I do. I hope to tell them they are abled, nothing is impossible.

"And for the able-bodied, think positive. Just be happy, live day by day."


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