The Epileptic Boy

Based on a true story written exclusively for TPJCian Magazine. The names in this post are fictitious as requested to protect the identity of the family.

Ahmad sat on the couch alone. He just woke up from his slumber. He stared at the headline news printed on the front page of Berita Harian. It was a calm and serene morning. The sound of the rustling leaves from the nearby trees could be heard as the morning breeze swept by. But everything soon changed with a blink of an eye...

Ahmad's body began to shake uncontrollably. His teeth abraded each other viciously like an old malfunctioned grinding machine. It let off a screeching sound that pervaded the living room. The silence was broken and everything suddenly turned chaotic. Goosebumps began to mushroom all over Ahmad's body. Green thick mucus took advantage and escaped from the blocked nose. His distorted face now looked messy. Ahmad seemed to have been possessed by a ruthless demon. He began to hit his head profusely, as if trying get rid of the culprit. It somehow worked and he regained control of his body almost thirty seconds later.

Ahmad was exhausted after the ordeal ended. His already emaciated body turned completely helpless. His mother helped him up and leaded him to his bedroom. His overworked muscles needed to rest. His face was cleaned from all the thick green mucus. Goosebumps soon faded away. A moment of calmness finally invaded the room.

The agony Ahmad just went through is not a form of demonic possession. He had epileptic seizures. Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that causes its victims to experience recurrent convulsions. He is one of the about fifty million people worldwide who lives with the disorder everyday.

Ahmad began suffering from the disorder since childhood. He had his first seizures after having a very high fever. Coming from a religious and conservative background, his family decided to consult a witch doctor. In the past, epileptic attacks are widely believed as demonic possessions. The prescriptions given worsened the situation and the fever never subsided. His parents rushed him to the hospital but it was too late by then. Ahmad's brain was badly affected. Doctors said that he had become retarded. It would be his permanent mental challenge; one known as cerebral palsy.

Ahmad now stays at home with his family. He is not able to work or study due to his mental condition. His parents still carry high hopes for his recovery. Taking care of Ahmad is a huge obstacle in their lives - although Ahmad is twenty nine years old now, he still behaves like a two-year-old boy. He has to wear diapers daily as he is not able to clear his bowels himself. His speech difficulties also made it hard for him to voice his needs to go into the washroom.

Ahmad is not able to feed himself. His mother usually takes the duty of nourishing her son. This is a laborious task as Ahmad may suddenly suffer a seizure while eating. As a result, all the food is thrown out back at her. Hence, she has to occasionally do clean-ups. Ahmad's mother has persevered for more than twenty years and she takes the challenges as a test from God of her strength and determination.

Ahmad has weak jaw muscles. He is not able to close his mouth and this resulted in an unintentional loss of saliva from the mouth. The condition affects his social life as well as his parents'. His parents need to consistently wipe the saliva so that it will not soil his clothes. This sometimes take a lot of time and prevents the family from going out of home.

It is unfortunate that epileptic patients usually affect the social interactions of their caregivers. Ahmad has an eighteen-year-old brother, Shaiful, who is currently studying in college. Shaiful often withdraws from mixing with his friends whenever they discuss about their families. He is not shy of his brother, but just worried at how they may react to his brother's condition. After all, his brother is special. He fears that his friends will not accept him after exposing the truth. Sometimes, he has to skip class outings due to his commitment in taking care of his brother while his parents are away. All these have affected Shaiful's social interactions.

As Ahmad grows older, his legs have become thinner and weaker. Ahmad had experienced a traumatic fall before. He fell head first on the kitchen cupboard due to a sudden seizure attack. He now spends less time walking and more time sitting. He has developed a phobia of standing up due to the painful experience. The good news is that his condition has improved. His mother never fail to give him the doctor's prescribed medicine on time and she occasionally massages his legs to relieve the after-seizure pains.

The Singapore Epilepsy Foundation (SEP) has been active in promoting awareness and conducting study and research to improve the lives of people with epilepsy in this country. The non-profit organization holds public forums to educate the society regarding epilepsy. Another non-profit and volunteer-based organization that addresses the needs of epileptic patients and their caregivers is the Epilepsy Care Group (ECG).

Ahmad hopes that Singaporeans will accept people like him in the community. He is sick and tired of citizens who stare at him in public as if he is an alien from outer space. His parents want more space for Ahmad to spend his time out in public areas such as the neighbourhood parks. His brother hopes Singaporeans will be more understanding of mental patients and their needs. It is slow process but they believe society will change for the better soon.

I Am Fat But It's OK, Says Local Plus Size Blogger

As a casual blogger, Yong Wei was never shy or embarrassed to post his photos in his online personal diary. Being sixteen years old does not hinder him from expressing his critical views about his daily eccentricities and life experiences, such as regarding his visits to restaurants or food courts (check out his review on Botak Jones here).

Yong Wei now weighs 125 kilograms and he claims to be contented with it. He describes his favourite food as anything that is eatable but is repelled by processed food. Music provides him the serenity in life; it is used to express his emotions and feelings. He occasionally uploads his very own composed songs in his blog and dreams to be a famous musician one day. His readers are his fans.

Yong Wei has proven that being overweight does not mean that one has to hide under a shell in fear of discrimination by the society. He has showed that what is more important is our passion and commitment to do what we love most (in his case are blogging and music). He hopes to use his growing online popularity to inspire fat people like him by posting articles and reviews of his diet plans.

Yong Wei has definitely defied a popular belief that to be a successful blogger, one needs to possess an attractive and slim figure. His finalist position in the Singapore Blog Awards, organized by Omy.sg, was definitely the breakthrough in his blogging 'career'. In this interview, he reveals to us about his weight issues, blogging and how our society responds to people like him.
__________________________________

The following are details of an interview by TPJCian magazine, conducted via e-mail. Some of the questions have been edited for brevity and clarity, and extraneous material omitted.
__________________________________

1) How long have you been blogging? Why did you start blogging?
13 months ago, I was thinking of blogging about how much I've cycled around Singapore but end up doing more than that. And blogging about cycling is pretty lame I guess. I have to stop every once in a while just to snap some photos of my surroundings. You know, I'm kinda a photo guy, I'd rather blog with pictures mostly.

2) Do you blog for fun or do you consider yourself as a professional blogger, writing to earn money?
I think I'm a wannabe.

3) What do you think of the notion that to be a successful blogger, one needs to be good-looking?
Of course, I'm pretty good looking:























I find myself pretty cute and attractive.

4) Have you ever felt embarrassed to post your pictures in your blog?
You mean this?























If it entertains, I would post it I guess; not really sure what people think of me.

5) Have you ever come across nasty comments by your readers taunting your weight issue?
Hmmmmmm, are you one of them?

6) Have you ever experienced weight discrimination in our society, let it be in school or any other public places in Singapore?
I remember once or rather....many times, people called me this in class "Eh you know ah, when Yong Wei takes a shower, his leg is dry one". And I would shout it out across the classroom "Oi, talk bad things about me ah! You watch out! Later I call TAF club people chase you". And there goes the bursts of laughter. Yeah, I do, not sure how other fat people think of themselves, but I think I'm great the way I am. Of course, I would want to slim down.

7) I am not fat, I am big boned...Is that the true or are you trying to conceal the truth?
Dude, you should totally find out who Eric Cartman is (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Cartman). It's actually joke. Of course, I'm fat, but I like to keep it that way, makes me look humorous, and people say I'm living in denial.

8) Do you feel a need to lose your weight now so as to inspire your readers who may be suffering the same problem as you too?
Geez, people can be fat all they want, but I'm of course trying to lose some weight, Fruits, Oldenlandia water, more meat less rice. Trust me, I cycle a lot sometimes, I play basketball, and jog sometimes before I had a ankle injury. Yeah but I still cycle like, probably once every week at least?

9) You mentioned that people can be fat all they want. Don’t you think that mentality can be harmful to their health?
Wow, this is a hard question to answer. Mentally, if you don't decide to do anything about your weight, you won't. Scare tatics and all have been used, what else can we do for them? It's really up to oneself to get oneself up.

10) I understand you are really passionate about music. Do you intend to start a career in the music industry or is it just for fun? If not, what do you dream to be in the future?
I enjoy music, so that's fun. And of course, I try to be as professional as I can be, maybe soon I'll release a album next year and hold a gig, who knows? I would rather live my dreams, than to had never even tried.

11) Have your schoolmates or any members of the public ever criticized you for widely exposing yourself in our local community as attention-seeker? If so, how do you react?
I have read many forums and all talking about me - some love me, some hate me. Come on, Edison also a lot people like and hate him right? I'm kinda like him, just without those nude photos...


12) Are you happy with who you are and have now? (As in your weight now and your achievements as a blogger)
I'm kinda like 125kg right now, and of course I should be happy, like what Robbin William said, " Laughter is the best medicine". And I am happy, but I'll be happier to be slimmer
and I have friends who like me, and I like them too. I'm not that douchebag who goes around changing friends all the time.

13) What cultivates your compulsive eating habit? Is it stress or were you pampered with food since young?
Hmmmmm, I guess I'm greedy sometimes, but I've been changing my habit for the past few months; seems to look better in photos. In fact, I have been doing a photo-a-day project for the past 200 days, and believe me, my chin looks smaller than the first few days of my photos.

14) Are you embarrassed to approach a girl because of your size?
If it's a girl I've never met before, I would be shy till someone introduces her to me. I do have girl-friends.

15) Does your parents know about your famous blog? If yes, what did they think about it?
I'm famous? You might wanna ask my parents. I keep everything secret you see; not sure if they do know.

16) Do you think Singapore lacks bloggers who serve as good role models for the youngsters?
Nah, with me around there's no lacking. Everyone should follow me as a role model.

17) If you are given a chance to meet someone now, who would it be and why?
SR Nathan! Because I've never met him in real life!