Thomas Teo’s life started to change when he turned 8 years old. “I had problems walking, climbing stairs, even running,” he says. His mother came to know about it when she was alerted that Thomas had difficulties going down a hill at one of his school activities. His muscles started to cramp to a point that he couldn’t move his legs and his teacher had to carry him down.
A life-changing diagnosis
At his first visit to the hospital, he was only told that his leg was shorter than the other. However, Thomas’s older brother was already diagnosed with muscular dystrophy by another doctor at a different hospital. After feeling like something wasn’t right, he transferred over to his brother’s doctor and that was when Thomas was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy too. “At the point of time, I don’t feel anything. I don’t know anything because I was still young,” he shares. “My mum was a bit disappointed because the both of us had this medical condition…At that point of time it was really unknown. Nobody knows what [muscular dystrophy] is about.” Every parent hopes for their children to be healthy. “My mum really broke down,” he shares.
“To me, falling down was an everyday thing…Even if it’s a flat ground…I would still fall. I even fell down from stairs, even escalators…so I had injuries all over…It was never easy.”
Things only started to get rough at the age of 13. His mum who was his pillar of strength was admitted to the hospital due to lung infection. “I can’t focus on school, I nearly wanted to give up…and I was working part time because my mum was always in and out of the hospital,” he says. Even the friends he made in school weren’t as supportive as he hoped.
Thomas who is now 26 years old, had to switch from using crutches to a wheelchair at the age of 19, when his condition worsened. When he first started using a wheelchair, worries and concerns began to rise such as transportation, wheelchair accessibility and finding alternative routes for wheelchair-users. It took him 1 year to get used to sitting on a wheelchair. “That’s the point of time where I started not to go home and hide at home all the time,” he admits. “That’s when my friends kept pulling me out all the time….They even drive me out at night….If not because of all these good friends, I really don’t know how to cope with my life.”
He has met good friends and bad friends, he’s just lucky the good ones remained by his side. When he met the same friends he had in secondary school in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), he thought things would get better. However, knowing Thomas once used crutches they misunderstood him even when he tried to explain. “They thought I’m lazy and I don’t want to walk,” he says. “But I have friends…because of them, they always encourage me, ‘Don’t give up too easily. Do what you can, don’t care about what others say about you.’ That’s when they inspired me.” He was also inspired by his brother, who lives life to the fullest by graduating from one of the top universities in Singapore.
Thomas was only given the attention he needed for his disability when he was in secondary school. He started going to rehab sessions and before and after school activities for people with disabilities organized by organisations like Asia Women Welfare Association (AWWA). It was also in secondary school that Thomas’s peers started to notice he was different. “Sometimes I feel a bit weaker. People can run, I can’t and all my friends can climb stairs normally, but I can’t,” he explains. “A lot of people will think that I don’t look normal.”
A life-changing opportunity
However, these organisations stepped in to assist Thomas in every possible way. “There was this miracle that came when I was 19,” he shares. He managed to join Lee Wai Song School of Music as he was always passionate about music. “If not for Make a Wish foundation, I wouldn’t even have this chance.” Till today, one of his greatest accomplishments is receiving a music certificate.
Thomas also had a difficult time finding a job after he graduated, but it was the encouragement from friends and organisations that consistently helped him out. “Without SPD (formerly Society for the Physically Disabled) and SG Enable helping out, I don’t think today I can get any job.”
Thomas aims to change mindsets and is passionate about educating the public on understanding people with disabilities. He hopes that people will no longer see people with disabilities as the weaker link or minority but accept them for who they are. “Just don’t look at us like we’re alien from somewhere…we are also human beings,” he shares.
Never give up and focus on what you want to do and do not care about what others think about you. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re any lesser and just keep striving towards your goal. You can do great things.
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