Heart transplant recipient 20 years on

Asia News Network, The Star/Kuala Lumpur

Meet South-East Asia's first heart transplant recipient, who 20 years after his heart transplant operation, is going great guns.

Looking in the mirror every morning is just a daily routine, but for Seah Chiang Nee, that one simple act tells him that he has another new lease of life.

"When I do that every morning, it is with the knowledge that I have a new lease of life. And every day is to be enjoyed. Maybe it is my destiny to live longer. My purpose in life has always been to do something useful," said the Singaporean.

Seah, 65, will on Oct 12 join the "rare club" of those who have lived for 20 years as a heart transplant patient. He was also the first South-East Asian back in 1985 to undergo a heart transplant operation after suffering from cardiac myocarditis (a viral infection that destroys the heart's muscles).

Doctors had given him three years to live. But a meeting with the late Dr Victor Chang from Sydney resulted in Seah flying to Sydney to undergo the operation and a second chance at life.

Chang carried out the operation in Sydney, Australia. Seah received the heart of a 17-year-old Australian teenage boy. Because of Australian laws, Seah does not know who the donor or his family are.

He has not let the transplant keep him for doing what he loves, including updating himself on current events, writing a column with The Star and is editor of the website www.littlespeck.com.

He has a wife, Patricia, and son, Pei Kwang, 26.

Seah takes anti-rejection drugs and steroids for his condition.

In a recent interview, he related his experiences of the past two decades and how he has continued to live life.

A journalist for 40 years and counting, Seah was a correspondent with Reuters from 1960 to 1970. Based in Singapore, he covered other South-East Asian countries, including Vietnam.

He was also Malaysia Bureau Chief for the Singapore Herald and later was its news editor. He also worked with The Asian and Straits Times Singapore. Seah was also chief editor with The Singapore Monitor from 1982 to 1985.

"I have had to put the brakes on my career. Life has never been 100 per cent normal after the operation. As a journalist, I had been traveling my whole life. But now I cannot travel to many places, especially where the health standards are low, or even take long flights.

The past 20 years has also seen Seah changing his lifestyle. "You have to have discipline and this would not have been possible without my son and wife. My meals are mainly low in cholesterol, oil and salt. There is no red meat or fried stuff.

"And I have not had sup kambing (mutton soup) for 20 years. It is the same with char kuey teow (fried flat noodles). Even the carrot cake is steamed," he added.

He also said that there were not many positive things that had taken place since his transplant but this has managed to change his view of life.

"Before the transplant, I was like everybody else. I would "potong queue" (cut in front) when driving. But now I am more patient and controlled. I get less upset by things and think positively.

"I also spend more time with my family. When I was editor, I only managed to see my son and wife on weekends. I want to keep alive and engage with the world," he said.

Exercise, he added, does not involve running or jogging. Instead, he walks briskly a few times a week. Each session lasts about 20 minutes. He normally catches up with contacts or friends for lunch.

His routine nowadays is getting up at 6 a.m. and updating his website or including articles of interest in files that he has been collecting for the past 30 years.

"I have two files on Dr Mahathir and one on Anwar (Ibrahim). But then, I had to clear out some articles on Dr Mahathir, which became less important," he quipped.

An extrovert, Seah said he had decided not to "enclose" himself in a room and not know what was happening in the world.

"I am a freak for news and information. I want to know everything and sometimes get angry with myself for not knowing some major trends," he stressed.

He has run his "cyber-journal" website for the past five years and admitted that he had help from a lot of young kids to design and set it up.

"Most old people do not know what a website is or how to e- mail. It was a nightmare to learn. I wanted to do it because a journalist cannot perform in Singapore only, which is very small. I also needed a bigger platform to do more.

"I felt overwrought with the new technology and knowing that Singapore was just a tiny red dot. So, I put up the website for everyone. What grabs me is the sense of power that I can really do it.

"I do not want any premature aging or my brains to go soft. Plus, just having one person writing and doing the technical stuff to me is quite unique," he said.

His only regret, he added was that the Internet had come too late into his life.

Seah's dream for www.littlespeck.com is to start an Internet radio or television running for about 30 minutes daily.

"I would love to do that if possible, especially if there was a mass audience or viewers," he said.

Writing for The Star, he added was also a turning point in his life. "It was a chance for me to perform and get an allowance, which helps because there is some financial security, especially to pay for the high cost of medication."

For his 20th anniversary, the Singapore Heart Center will throw him a party.

"I'm happy to be an inspiration to others. There are about 24 transplant patients in Singapore and it is nice just being there to remind them that being a heart transplant patient does not mean that you have to be helpless. You can be as normal as possible," he advised.

(To read more about Seah's transplant story, log on to www.littlespeck.com and click on the section labelled "about us".)