00:00Go, Jerry!
00:01Go, Jerry!
00:03You can do it, you can do it!
00:05After pushing his body through a gruelling full Ironman challenge in 2022,
00:10Jerry Ong thought the hard part was over.
00:12But he was about to face a very different test, tuberculosis.
00:17On that day, just into the bike for probably just 30 to 40 kilometers,
00:22I totally lost all my energy.
00:24So I couldn't pedal anymore.
00:27So I just take it slowly, drag my whole body over the finishing line,
00:33and I finished, considered quite near to the cut off time.
00:37I actually sense something is wrong, but I don't know what is it.
00:40How come I just totally, no energy?
00:43Then I will, of course, it also comes to mind, maybe it's my first Ironman.
00:47I'm not experienced enough, so it's normal that my body just suddenly just weak.
00:53Then came a cough that refused to go away,
00:55followed by a shocking diagnosis.
00:58Ong had tuberculosis.
01:00He spent nine days in hospital and was on antibiotics every day for nine months.
01:06The medication left him feeling fatigued.
01:09He struggled with dizziness, headaches and diarrhea.
01:13His urine and stools turned red.
01:15And for someone who thrived on staying active, this blow to his health hit hard.
01:21It's pretty draining, because I will always question, why is me?
01:28Why I must be the one that gets infected?
01:32So hard for me to build up that fitness.
01:34It's tough for me to start all over again.
01:38I realized that the only way is to take action, the things that I can control.
01:44So I decided to start slowly again, get active back and stay positive.
01:52Step by step, he returned to training, completing a half Ironman, then a full Ironman.
01:58But just as things were getting back on track, the persistent cough returned.
02:03This cough is very familiar.
02:05So I immediately go check it.
02:07I go back to the same doctor, the chest doctor.
02:09The tuberculosis had struck again.
02:12But this time, Ong was not facing the unknown.
02:15Having gone through it before, he found the strength to fight it again.
02:19This time, he was put on a six-month course of antibiotics.
02:23Yet he pressed on, returning to training and completing another full Ironman by the end of last year.
02:30Today, he urges others to listen to their bodies and seek help early.
02:35To get checked early is important because this TB can spread not only at the lungs,
02:43it can spread very fast to your other organs also.
02:45The tuberculosis is treatable.
02:47So it's important to get checked early.
Comments