On this podcast, Simon Lim speaks to Yeo Whee Jim, a man who was diagnosed with ALS in 2023. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a disease that progresses to affect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS is a rare disease that causes loss of muscle control. Globally, approximately 1.9 to 2.2 out of every 100,000 people develop ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) each year, with about 4.5 to 6 people per 100,000 living with the disease at any given time.
What happened to Whee Jim's body over time, in having to live with ALS? What were the early signs that he had ALS? How did Whee Jim discover he had ALS? What did his doctor tell him? What went through his mind at the time?
Whee Jim, used to go to the gym twice a day and swim, and now he can't. How does he manage to brave all that he is going through, and still keep a positive mindset?
You may not know Whee Jim, but he has an impressive background. Whee Jim spent 20 years in the civil service including as Director of the Public Service Commission Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office. He was Institute Director of Governance and Policy at the Civil Service College. Whee Jim even won the Lien Ying Chow Fellowship in 2019 for senior government officials.
According to Whee Jim, during his journey with ALS, he became "an unlikely poet". Find out more as I talk to him about his poems.
You can listen to Whee Jim's poems at a current exhibition at Millenia Walk. It includes beautiful photographs he had personally taken on his travels. This exhibition is more than a showcase of images - it's a deeply personal journey through love, loss and resilience.
In 2007, Whee Jim's wife Lok Yan discovered that she had stage 3 breast cancer. Lok Yan was still in her late 30s when she passed away. Their daughter is now an 18-year-old teenager.
Listen to Yeo Whee Jim in this interview which was first heard on the radio show, "NIGHTS WITH SIMON" on ONE FM 91.3, a station of SPH Media.

ABOUT YEO WHEE JIM'S EXHIBITION www.milleniawalk.com/whats-on/breathe-give-live

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