KUALA LUMPUR – Many know Patrick Teoh as a well-known actor and radio personality in Malaysia. He is even dubbed the ‘Voice of Malaysia’ for his work on-air after hosting popular shows on national radio stations such as Radio 4, THR and Rediffusion.
However, what many do not know is that he is a survivor of poliomyelitis (polio).
Speaking during a Rotary District 3300 webinar titled Polio Endgame today, the 74-year-old recalled how he was unknowingly infected by the polio virus after visiting his maternal grandparents for a gathering to celebrate a Chinese festival at his hometown in Ipoh. It was something he has lived with ever since.
“I remember contracting a fever and it did not subside for a couple of weeks. My mother brought me to many doctors, but nothing happened,” he recalled.
“However, when the fever did leave, I could not walk anymore. I was paralysed from the waist down,” said Teoh who is now vice-president of special projects and executive director of PETRA Media.
“My mother was worried and thought that some evil had befallen me. She took me to temples, consulted mediums hoping to get a supernatural cure for the affliction but to no avail. She later brought me to consult a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, who prescribed a kind of herbal soup that tasted horrible,” he reminisced.
A few days after consuming the concoction, sensation returned to both of his legs. A few days after that, he could stand and a couple more days later, he could hobble along. However, no one knew it was polio because his parents were not aware of the disease.
Despite his ability to move better with his two legs, he was sent to Singapore General Hospital to operate on his deformed right leg as the bone needed correction. He stayed in the hospital for three to four months.
He left the hospital with leather and steel calipers to help correct the foot and had to wear leather and steel boots when he returned to school.
However, Teoh never regarded himself as a survivor of polio as it has not made an impactful difference in his life and his profession. He was not hindered from what he wanted to do and said that only people with ill-intent had something to say about how he walked.
Nevertheless, he began to ponder the possibility of being struck by post-polio syndrome when he hit 60.
“When I was younger, although polio affected both my legs, I had almost total control of my body movements,” he said. “I would play a fairly decent game of badminton and have walked for more than 25km with my polio-affected legs.
“Now as I am aged, my legs are getting weaker. When I walk or move around it causes undue fatigue and becomes a problem.
“If I could go back in time and change things, I would have chosen to be born a few years later so I could be vaccinated as a baby.”
Because of his experience, he says he will be glad to be not just the ‘Voice of Malaysia’ but also the ‘Voice of Polio’, to bring awareness about the disease.
From 350,000 cases to just two
In conjunction with World Polio Day, Rotary District 3300 governor Datuk Bindi Rajasegaran said that Polio Plus, the first and largest international movement involving public and private initiatives that started in 1985, managed to bring down the number of polio cases from 350,000 to only two reported this year.
These two cases were reported in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Currently, two out of the three strains of polio have been eradicated.
In efforts to ensure that it does not come back, consultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin said that the Rotary Club in Malaysia has initiated three clinics in Peninsula Malaysia where 100,000 refugees and immigrants have access to the polio vaccines.
One is located in the Klang Valley, another for the northern region in Kedah and the third is in Johor. The clinics are located at places where large numbers of immigrants reside.
He also said that to achieve success in curbing Covid-19 as has been done with polio, it is important for the country to achieve 90% total immunity.
“If we work as passionately as we did with polio, and put both feet into the Covid-19 fight, I am sure we can eliminate it along with the variants of concern,” he added. – The Vibes, October 24, 2021
