Rising to life's challenges
New Asian Heroes, an eight-part series on Asians who lead inspiring lives, kicks off with Peter Loh, who's determined to be financially independent despite being paralysed
By Wong Kim Hoh
HAPPY OUTLOOK: Peter Loh overcame his depression after being paralysed in an accident and now works from home for a bank with the help of his mother Monica Chong, who types his comments on the computer keyboard. -- ST PHOTOS: ALAN LIM
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LIFE has a very cruel sense of irony sometimes.
On Sept 11, 1994, Peter Loh, then 22, was supposed to meet an insurance agent. His mother, Madam Monica Chong, had arranged for the agent to recommend him some policies.
She had to cancel the appointment.
On that day, Loh dived into the swimming pool at the former Non-Commissioned Officers' (NCO) club in Beach Road and broke his neck.
The accident severely damaged his spinal cord. He is now confined to a motorised wheelchair, paralysed from the neck down.
It was a cruel blow to the athletic young man, who was then taking a break from his electrical engineering studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in the United States to complete his national service.
The Hwa Chong Junior College alumnus, a keen canoeist and swimmer, remembers the day well.
He had arranged to meet a friend for dinner after giving a swimming lesson at the club.
'I had some time to kill so I decided to jump into the pool for a few laps,' says Loh, now a DBS bank executive.
He plunged in from the shallow end, something he says he had done numerous times before. But this time, he could taste blood.
'I probably broke my teeth,' he says during the interview in his family home, a four-room HDB flat in Tampines.
An alert swimming coach helped pull him out.
Although he was conscious throughout the ordeal, he says that he cannot remember more.
'It's not something I keep thinking of, as you can imagine,' the 35-year-old says with some difficulty, eyes brimming with tears.
Madam Chong, 63, adds: 'When we rushed to the hospital to see him, he just kept saying, 'Mum, I'm sorry.' '
The former secretary and her retired civil servant husband insisted on a complex operation even though doctors were not optimistic about their son's survival. They have a younger son, Joshua, 32, a manager in a property company.
Madam Chong says: 'I said that even if the success rate was just 1 per cent, I wanted him to have a shot.'
Loh stayed in hospital for the next 11/2 years. During this time, his parents would smuggle in acupuncturists and Chinese physicians, never turning down any option to save their son from life in a wheelchair.
It was a dark period for Loh, who was suicidal for the first few months.
He says: 'Every time I had an infection, I'd say, 'Let this be the one.' '
His mother nods, adding: 'He always said then, 'If I could use my hands, I would kill myself.' '
It was the love and support of his family, relatives and friends that pulled Loh, a Catholic, through.
Cousins, aunts and uncles often kept him company.
Strangers and 'friends of friends' who had heard about his mishap also turned up to pray for him.
Once he had come to terms with his condition, he says his practical and competitive instincts took over.
'I decided I wanted to be financially independent,' he says. 'Since I had some credits from Carnegie Mellon, I decided I would get a degree and find myself a job.'
He wrote to the National University of Singapore in 1996, hoping to study electrical engineering, like he had done in Carnegie Mellon.
The professor who visited and interviewed him at the hospital suggested computer science instead.
He took up the challenge.
'I could not just study for the sake of interest, I had to do something which would land me a job.'
He was a determined student. The family maid accompanied him to lectures three times a week, either in a Handicaps Welfare Association ambulance or a London cab. She helped him record lectures, which his mother or aunt would then transcribe.
'I had friends who volunteered to help me photocopy notes or borrow books for research,' he adds. 'I asked a lot of questions; one professor even gave me his phone number because he knew he wouldn't be able to answer all my questions during office hours.'
The tenacity paid off handsomely.
He bagged the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal, awarded to the best student in the Bachelor of Computer and Information Science degree programme for 1998/9.
'The degree was my insurance policy, the prize, my rider,' he jokes, using the insurance jargon for additional coverage.
After graduation, he wrote many job application letters.
'I 'signed' them with my thumbprint, since I could not use my hands. I was apprehensive that I would get many rejections,' says Loh who can manoeuvre the control of his motorised wheelchair with the help of a splint.
His fears were unfounded. Several employers came to his home to interview him. Soon after, he landed his first job - as a research assistant in an NUS computer laboratory.
He left soon after to become an applications engineer for SpeechWorks, a software company. It was a job he held for more than four years until the company was bought over and had its operations moved to Australia.
He worked briefly in another software company before DBS hired him about three years ago. He is part of the group strategic marketing and communications team, managing and editing content for the bank's Intranet network.
He works from home but goes to the bank's Shenton Way offices at least once a week to attend meetings.
He has access to a voice recognition software, but says he relies mostly on his mother.
He dictates, and she executes all his commands on the keyboard.
'He's a tough boss,' she jokes.
Asked if he shares his bonus with her, he says with a cackle: 'Of course.'
Indeed his mother is his biggest crutch and support.
She says: 'My husband sometimes worries and asks me, 'What will happen to him when we are gone?'
'I don't want to think of that scenario. We won't even know what will happen to us tomorrow so why worry? I know God will take care of him.'
Loh, who loves spicy food and enjoys watching Cantonese drama serials and listening to music, is equally pragmatic.
'In the worst case scenario, I will go to a nursing home. Hopefully, my income and savings will allow me to do that.'
He then says chirpily: 'You know what? I am more worried about delivering on my KPIs (key performance indicators).'
kimhoh@sph.com.sg
New Asian Heroes is brought to you by DBS.
2 comments:
This article is very uplifting and sad both at the same time. While this young man went through a really tragic event in his life, rather than letting it tear him down, he was able to make the best of things and pursue something else to make his life fulfilling.
I know Peter and all I can say is that his spirit is amazing and I wish more people could live with such will.
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