Elvin Ng Breaks Down When He Recalls His Dad’s Last Days In Hospital

Elvin Ng went through one of the darkest points of his life in 2012 when his father died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm at the age of 57 after getting hospitalised for heart problems. And the famously filial actor recounted to Quan Yifeng what he went through that year on the latest episode of talk show Hear U Out.

It was his first day on the set of Mediacorp drama Absolutely Charming when he received a phone call from his younger sister telling him that their dad was in the hospital. It was because that scene required me to use my phone that I heard her call. And I rushed to the hospital after that, Elvin, 39, said.

“For four days, I shuttled between the hospital and the film set,” Elvin said. “I didn’t go home because my dad’s condition was pretty critical and he needed to go for surgery. At that time I had to go back to work but I really wanted to be by his side when they rolled him into the operation theatre. But two hours before that I had to tell him that I had work.

I didn’t dare say ‘bye bye’ to him. I said, ‘Dad, I’m going to work’... added Elvin, his voice cracking with emotion.

The [first] operation lasted for more than 20 hours, but he was okay after that, said Elvin as tears rolled down his face. His condition only deteriorated after there was inflammation after surgery.”

According to Elvin, his dad didn't wake up until his whole village , like his aunts, turned up at the hospital. He loved his family so much. So when everyone was there, he suddenly woke up for about a minute, but he was struggling... It was strange but he woke up. By then he couldn't recognise me or anyone. But he opened his eyes and then he left...

After his father’s death, Elvin was given time off to settle his dad's funeral. “[My dad] liked things to be lively, so his wake was held for a week... During those seven days, I didn’t know a lot of things. My younger brother and sister were with me and we were worried about our mother, Elvin said. After my dad was buried, it was late by the time we got home. My family members were all present, but I couldn’t be with them because had to start filming the next day. The schedule was very tight and I filmed from 7am to 1am almost every day to make up for the time lost [during my week off]. I wanted to be with my family and to sort out my emotions but I couldn’t do that because I was so busy.”

In fact, Elvin was so busy with work that during his father's wake, he would often go to a corner to go through his script because he had a lot of lines to memorise.

It was around this time that Elvin almost hit his breaking point. “It was as though I contained all my feelings up and put them aside when I went back to work,” he said. “I was exhausted. I would arrive home past midnight, when everyone else was asleep. I didn’t see my family. When I paid respects to my dad, I’d tell him, ‘Dad, I can’t talk to you for long. I have to go through my scripts. I’ll talk to you next time.’”

The little bit of time he had to himself was not enough to keep him going and Elvin recalled being so mentally exhausted that he thought he was going to collapse on the third day of filming. He then called the EP and told her that he needed half an hour to an hour to sort himself out. And I hid in a corner and didn't dare leave my house, Elvin said.

By the time filming wrapped for the drama, two months had gone by since his dad's passing. Instead of taking time off for himself, Elvin took his mum on a trip to Europe.

“My dad never left Asia because he felt that anywhere further was just too far, and that he would have problems communicating,” Elvin said. “So I said I would bring my mum to Europe 'cos she's never been there before. It was just the two of us. I had to spend time with her to help her sort out her emotions. I didn’t have time to do that for myself.”

It was only four months later when he had a break from work that he had time for himself. And so he headed to the beach one night and laid down under the stars.

“My tears started flowing, but I didn’t know that I was crying. Whatever emotions that I packed away gushed out all at once. It was difficult for me because I felt like a robot. I could only start [grieving] four months after [my dad's death]. So it was really tough.

Click here to watch Part 2 of Elvin Ng's interview on Hear U Out.

Photos: Elvin Ng's Instagram