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Persevering through pain: One student’s fight to complete his O-Levels

SINGAPORE — Imagine experiencing stomach pain, diarrhoea and nausea, all so intense that you can only lie in bed hoping for the pain to pass. Once, in 2014, Sean Lim vomited in the exam hall during a semester assessment.

Student Sean Lim (pictured) suffers from a chronic digestive disease, which forced him to take two years of leave from school, but he still managed to complete his O-Levels and found time to volunteer in the community.

Student Sean Lim (pictured) suffers from a chronic digestive disease, which forced him to take two years of leave from school, but he still managed to complete his O-Levels and found time to volunteer in the community.

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SINGAPORE — Imagine experiencing stomach pain, diarrhoea and nausea, all so intense that you can only lie in bed hoping for the pain to pass. Once, in 2014, Sean Lim vomited in the exam hall during a semester assessment.

The Hougang Secondary School student suffers from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. The chronic condition may recur anytime, and there is no way to predict when the disease can come back.

The pain forced him to take two years of absence from school. Then in 2017, when Sean finally returned to Hougang Secondary School, he had to start making new friends and readjust to the environment.

“When I came back to school, no one really knew who I was, and everyone thought I was a new student,” the 17-year-old said.

Sean also had a lot to catch up on. Then just before his O-Levels last year, his condition relapsed but he was determined to take the exam.

On Monday (Jan 14), Sean got his O-Level results and was one of three students from his school who were commended for their hard work and improvement.

POSITIVE ENERGY DESPITE ILLNESS

He expressed his gratitude to his teachers and peers in helping him catch up on school work.

“My teachers played a huge role because they kept encouraging me, and after school they would also give me extra lessons. Even though I kept asking the same questions, they wouldn’t give up on me or get angry at me.”

Sean’s friends would cheer him up on the bad days.

“Whenever they saw that I was stressed, they would find ways to surprise me. Once, they came all the way to my house and surprised me with presents.”

One close friend, Gershon Yeow, said that Sean brought positive energy to his peers.

“He’s so tough. He doesn’t use his medical condition as an excuse, but instead he puts that aside and focuses on his work."

A ROLE MODEL

Sean was also an active leader in school.

In the National Cadet Corps (NCC), he was appointed the Values-in-Action (VIA) leader, in charge of leading his peers for VIA programmes.

One memorable instance was during a block party for the older residents, said Mr Jeremy Khoo, Sean’s NCC and form teacher. Sean had extra lessons after school which clashed with the party, but he immediately rushed down on his own to make sure that everything went smoothly.

“He’s always shown gratitude to those around him, and it was a great privilege to be his teacher,” said Mr Khoo.

Despite his condition, Sean volunteered at Jia Ying Community Centre and Yishun Community Hospital, and took part as a motivator in the Chingay Parade last year.

“I enjoy interacting with people, to hear their life stories and how they themselves overcame many difficulties to get to where they’re at,” he said.

WHAT’S NEXT 

Sean is interested in planes and he plans to take an aviation-related course in polytechnic.

While preparing for his O-Levels, he often studied at Changi Airport. “Planes reduce my stress, when I see how free they are,” he quipped.

“Although it’s uncertain, I’m quite excited about the future. I look forward to what’s in store for me.”

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