Undeterred by loss of right eye, Jason Chee presses on for ASEAN Para Games glory
Para paddler Jason Chee is back training for the ASEAN Para Games even after losing his right eye to choroidal melanoma a few months ago. Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY
SINGAPORE — Para-paddler Jason Chee is a picture of composure.
Despite losing his right eye to cancer recently, five years after a shipboard accident robbed him of his legs and left arm, the 34-year-old navy serviceman remains relentlessly focused on his immediate goal - to win at least one medal at the ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur next month.
“People will say that my life has been so-called unfortunate... Yes I (went) through many operations, lost my three limbs, lost my right eye. But I’m still here, there are many things I want to do, that I want to achieve,” said Mr Chee in a recent interview.
He turned to para-table tennis after a horrific accident in December 2012 onboard a warship, where he was caught between a motorised winch and a berthing rope. He lost his left arm, three fingers on his right hand, and both legs in the accident.
About four months ago, Mr Chee felt the vision in his right eye “partially blackout” while he was at work. A day later, he was diagnosed with choroidal melanoma, a type of cancer in the eye.
“The doctor said, ‘Sorry Jason, it’s a tumour, a 1.5cm malignant tumour’,” he recounted. Mr Chee said he was calm when told about the bad news, and conducted his own research on the condition and sought a second opinion.
Having been through several operations after the 2012 accident, he said he was not afraid of going through yet another operation to remove his right eye – the best way to stop the cancer.
When news of his cancer broke, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen wrote on Facebook that he could tell Mr Chee would not let yet another setback depress him.
Many netizens also lauded him for being an inspiration to Singaporeans and for setting a good example of how one should carry on when confronted with setbacks. Some, such as Professor Wong Tien Yin, the medical director of the Singapore National Eye Centre, offered their help.
Asked if the outpouring of public support would put him under greater pressure during the Para Games, Mr Chee said: “There is no pressure at all. (Instead) there is a sense of encouragement.”
“I’m a fighter. What does it mean to be a fighter? It means to fight every obstacle you meet.”
Three weeks after his eye surgery in May, the gold and silver medalist at the 2015 ASEAN Para Games was back at training, starting with a short 20-minute session to “get his basics right”.
He admitted that he initially had problems with his forehand – missing six out of the 10 balls that came his way – as his depth perception was affected with only one eye.
But Mr Chee said he never thought of giving up. He slowly extended the duration of each training session until he was able to handle the usual three-hour sessions, thrice a week.
He has also resumed his studies for a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
“I have my desires and my character is always strong and determined, I cannot give up,” he said. “I have never thought about what (it would) take to stop me.”
