The Straits Times Blogs - Judith Tan

Foot notes

2009-07-13T06:36:00Z

Judith Tan writes about being temporarily disabled and the importance of ankles.

IT TOOK a fracture to bring home to me how much we take our feet and ankles for granted.

Yet, they are one of the most hard-working parts of the body. They support our entire body weight, and carry it through 8,000 to 10,000 steps each day.

They are subjected to a rigorous workout, coming into direct contact with whatever ground surface we choose to walk or clamber across.

Do the maths: Imagine carrying your own weight for an estimated 184,000 km in a lifetime. It's no wonder ankles and feet are also one of the most frequently injured areas of the body.

Mr Jasper Tong, a chiropodist at the Singapore General Hospital, once told me that most people don't care much about their feet and ankles until they are injured or forced to do without them.

It's only when the pain does not go away or the foot swells to to look like a big blue marble that they consult a doctor, he added.

How true.

I was an active child and perhaps the repeated minor sprains over the years have left my left ankle vulnerable to injury.

It usually happened while I was running, jumping rope or dancing on heels during school break. I even strained it once while dismounting from a horse.

I sympathised with my colleague, Sumiko Tan, when I read her article in the Sunday Times about suffering an ankle sprain not too long ago.

That brought my childhood memories of injured ankles back to me.

I recall the struggle to walk normally after shuffling painfully and walking with a limp for several weeks.

The treatment regime consisted of cold and hot compresses followed by a visit to the Tuina physician, then located at Zion Road.

The old physician, trusted for generations and who drew the line at touching actual breaks, would massage and manipulate the ligaments back into their original position.

Then came the food advice — no cold drinks or anything sour as they could bring on arthritic-like pain.

There is no scientific basis, no double-blind placebo test to this wisdom, but everyone, particularly older folks, would take heed.

Who was I then, not to follow his instructions?

But one thing was certain both then and now — the determination not to let a weakened ankle stop me from continuimg my normal active life.

But the latest episode of "house arrest" has taught me a few things about myself. The more time I spend at home, the more I realise how much I love being outdoors.

Perhaps this accident, will finally teach me not to take my feet, let alone my ankles, for granted.

Fractured but not shaken

2009-07-06T03:57:00Z

Judith Tan insists it is ok for her to drive despite fracturing her left ankle.

THREE weeks ago I fractured my left ankle.

I was exercising on the trampoline when I landed with all of my weight on my left foot in such a way that my ankle rolled outwards.

I heard a ‘kraak’ sound as I went down but as it at first seemed like a bad sprain, I thought no more about the sound.

Besides, after about 20 minutes of icing it down, I tried placing my weight on the ankle joint and discovered that I was able to move around with only a little discomfort. But later, walking became much more difficult.

It was only after a visit to an emergency department the next day that an x-ray confirmed a nasty crack in my outer ankle bone (with the interesting name of lateral malleolus).

The doctors placed my leg in a cast that runs from my toes to just below my knee.

The result: I am not allowed to place any pressure on my left leg and need crutches to move about.

Never one to be sedentary, I decided I could still carry on with my daily life – much to the horror of an overly-concerned mother.

Since then, I have had many heated debates with her about my ability, or lack of ability to do so, particularly when it comes to driving my car.

I would understand her concern if I were still driving my previous car - a manual transmission, which would require me to use my left foot on the clutch. But as I now drive an automatic car, I argue that my left foot is redundant.

So here I sit - immobilised.

I’ve finished reading the novels I planned to catch up on and caught up with the TV series which I missed by working late shifts – thanks to late press releases on the Influenza A (H1N1) cases.

I’ve tried reasoning with and even begging my mother to let me drive but the answer is still “no”. Determined to win the argument, I went online to check Google for the legalities of driving with a cast on your leg.

I found it was certainly not alright to drive with a leg cast in Britain and in some parts of the United States but I could find nothing relating to the traffic laws here. The only thing to do – ask the Singapore Police.

Its spokesman, ASP Stanley Norbert, told me that as long as the driver is able to manage the vehicle competently, cast notwithstanding, it is not illegal to drive. But he did caution that when it comes to insurance coverage, it may be a totally different story.

Not to be defeated, I emailed several insurers on the issue – a few replied. Some said they needed time to check their policy, others simply ignored the email.

But Mr Pui Phusangmook, the Senior Vice-President and General Manager for NTUC Income’s General Insurance Division replied.

He said: “For the given scenario of a policyholder driving with the left foot in a cast, there would be no change in our motor insurance coverage if the Traffic Police permits this, and if the driver can manage the vehicle competently.”

Armed with that information – and the echo of my friends' constant harping for me to just get on with my life, I am ready to take on the roads – and yes, my mother as well.

Don't be-crutch my money

2009-07-01T06:44:00Z

Judith Tan laments the restrictions to ATM access while on crutches.

THE ATM or automated teller machine is a technological creation intended to make our lives easier.

With the ATM, we can access accounts fast, and dirty to make cash withdrawals or advances, check balances and pay bills without the hassle of a long queue at the bank.

Convenient?

So I thought – until my current break – in the literal sense of the word – which resulted in my left leg in a cast and being on crutches 24/7.

Like anyone who is used to being independent, I have a real problem being sedentary - and an even bigger problem with asking for help.

So trying to zip up to an ATM with my ankle in a cast and hobbling on crutches made me realise how disabled-unfriendly these locations are.

Try looking for a POSBank or DBS ATM outside a shopping mall or an office building that does not involve a whole lot of stairs, escalators or any form of climbing.

As the biggest local banks serving the community, they have between the two of them, over 900 ATMs dotting the island.

Where I live, there two ATMs had been set up within a 10-minute walk (30 minutes if you are traversing on crutches), making it convenient for most residents in the area.

But when you have a physical problem, such as a broken bone or when you are simply elderly or less mobile, challenging physical obstacles apparently springs between you and your money.

Suddenly, the simple act of withdrawing cash is no longer a breeze.

My first try was at Coronation Plaza but the ATM there is flanked by two flights of steps.

And to get to the other, located near the Farrer Road market, means stumbling over several steps – definitely no mean feat for the elderly and anyone trying to balance on walking aids.

When I brought this up with friends, they started throwing up ATM locations they thought would be accessible even for people on wheelchairs – and failing.

What about the Posbank branch near the Newton Post Office, my sister finally suggested. The branch is, after all, on the same level as the car park, so how difficult would it be getting to its ATM?

How difficult, indeed.

I hopped in my father’s car and he drove me there as I was filled with hope.

But while the bank is located a stone’s throw from the open-air car park, the ATM was nowhere near. It is in a single-standing vestibule outside the building by the road. To get to the machine, I needed to either use a short slope to its right or the four steps to its left.

A few passers-by who had just used the ATM advised me not to meet the challenge, and to take my chance with the line inside the bank itself.

The only saving grace at this POSBank branch are its staff - in particularly, bank officer Georgina Tang.

She took the initiative to pop out from behind the counter to help – offering to do the transfer of funds to my current account and the withdrawal of cash, all from her desk. The transactions were done with a constant and very genuine smile.

Thank you, Ms Tang.

A check with DBS and POSBank found the two banks face constraints from both building management and Town Councils where ATMs are possibly located.

A spokesman for the banks said both banks try to make the ATMs as user-friendly as possible, with ramps at certain places, catering to those in wheelchairs.

A disabled writer once noted: If an access feature doesn't help the people it's supposed to help get to where they're trying to get, it may as well not be there.

The thing about access for the disabled is it cannot be provided partially.

It is either all or nothing.

For example, a ramp, even if it is built to suitable specifications, is rendered less effective if it is then blocked by steps.

Having only recently been faced with the same problem, I totally commiserate!

Of skateboards and moonwalks

2009-06-28T04:17:00Z

Judith Tan recalls how Fawcett and Jackson made an impact on her life.

I HAD been mulling over the premature deaths of two icons – TV’s angel and pop’s King.

I could actually say that both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were markers in my formative years.One “taught” me how to be competent riding on a skateboard and the other to moonwalk.

I was only 12 when Charlie's Angels debut on TV at 9 every Wednesday night.

It was a series about three women private investigators, roles traditionally reserved for men then.

That was perhaps why it attracted a pre-teen who needed to know women are as good as men when it came to crime-fighting on TV, if not better.

I even went to school with her face, and those of the other Angels, on my lunchbox.

I particularly remembered one episode where Farrah, as Jill Munroe, was on a skateboard being chased by a bad guy in an Ice Cream truck though the park.

SOURCE: THE EXAMINER

The year before, I had been bugging my parents to get me a skateboard, having watched teen actor Leif Garrett (who happened to be sporting the same kind of hairdo as Farrah Fawcett then), on one.

They had refused, convinced that it was dangerous and a sport only for teen boys.

Farrah managed to change that a year later.

That evening at an impressionalbe age, I was captivated.

Actually, they continued to refuse my begging and pleading for one.

It was after a whole lot of cajoling and emotional blackmailing that my late grandmother came through.

I finally got my bright green skateboard a month after the episode went on air.

The tricky part was learning how to ride it well without breaking every bone in my body.

Having no one to physically show me the ropes, the only way was to watch Farrah on hers over and over and over.

I was able to, since I had recorded the episode at a repeat showing on RTM1, a Malaysian channel.

I ran the tape thin and after several scrapes on the elbows and knees, I was able to competently roll my way through Botanic Gardens sans the bad guy in an Ice Cream truck.

It was not until six years later that I “encountered” my other mentor – the King of Pop himself.

I still remember the image clearly as if it was just yesterday.

Michael Jackson was performing Billie Jean on stage in his black Fedora, glittery black jacket over a white tee, black pants that barely reached his ankles, showing off his white socks and black loafers.

SOURCE: MJJ PRODUCTIONS

Classmates in junior college were trying their darnest to imitate the moves.

Once again I decided to record MJ’s moves off the small screen, play the tape thin to ace the moves.

I drove my family nuts with the constant playing of Billie Jean and after about the 27th time I managed to moonwalk in my bedroom slippers.

I advanced ot moonwalking in a pair of moccasins before trying out in my trackshoes.

And in 1996, I watched Michael Jackson live on stage doing his famous moonwalk.

It all seems like some fragmented dream memories now that came flowing back with news of their deaths.

In the end, they remain as relics of my generation. Rest in peace, Farrah and Michael and thanks.

The female Achilles' heel

2009-03-07T22:05:00Z

Judith Tan weighs up her strengths and weaknesses.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, MARCH 8

GROWING up, I was surrounded by grandmas, mum, aunts, cousins, teachers and coaches who were strong confident women – go-getters who did not hesitate to love, leap or express themselves.

With such strong role models, it is no wonder I turned out the way I did – unafraid to ask questions or to talk back and almost fearless at times (to the point that my mother sometimes says I am fool-hardy).

But I would rather think I am independent and independent-minded so perhaps that is why I gravitate to like-minded friends who take crap from no one.

Yet I believe that strong women can have their vulnerable moments too, especially when it comes to their Achilles' heel.

Mine was my weight. Actually it still is.

A deep-rooted fear of becoming fat, and the just-as-deeply-rooted guilt about enjoying food, have long been a part of my life.

Since the age of 10, I was really conscious of my weight. After all, who has ever heard of a fat ballerina?

So at 13, when a well-meaning relative said my well-rounded grandmother’s genes had skipped a generation, I made up my mind to be in control. I stopped eating.

The common perception of anorexia and bulimia sufferers is that they have brought the problem upon themselves by trying to get a fashionably slender figure.

But the causes of eating disorders are far more complex.

I can remember being the Houdini of food then – often tossing my lunch or dinner into the rubbish chute.

At school, I would not eat during break and would inform my teachers on days where there was extra curricular activities that I had lunch waiting for me at home.

As long as the food disappeared from my immediate surroundings I felt better. By then, I became mindful of a connection between food and my need for control.

Being a TV journalist in my young adult life did not help my situation either. On TV, every kilogramme I put on seemed to be amplified by the TV cameras.

The highly stressful nature of the job fueled that fire. Yes, I love the adrenalin rush. It was the not being in control that I hated.

My need for control returned and being on the job almost 24/7, I had the freedom to eat nothing and not have it noticed.

With a disposal income on top of that, I started my trips on slimming pills – hydroxcut, ephedrine, caffeine...you name it.

This was intoxicating and egged me to continue my quest for perfection. I slept less, worked more and utilised these distractions to carry me further.

I want to believe I am now over being obsessed with my weight, but can one ever be?

I hit the gym at every lunch time except Wednesday and the weekend but there are still days when the qipao does not fit or when that pair of jeans cuts off circulation to my legs.

So hmmm; where did I leave that bottle of Superdrine?

When it's good to be colour blind

2009-01-16T07:53:00Z

Judith Tan on how the different races rally together in these tough times.

THE residents of Block 191 Boon Lay Drive are colour blind.

But no, not in the medical sense.

When someone is in trouble, everyone rallies to help. As one resident put it: "Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian or others – we are all one family."

Simply when someone is in trouble, everyone rallies to help.

Race issues not withstanding.

I was there recently, sniffing out signs of hardship for a feature on how Singaporeans are coping with tougher times.

After-all, many of the people living in the one-room flats of the block were felled by the recent economic downturn. And, the majority are lower income families and trying hard to make ends meet.

But along with the hardship, I found friendship, laughter, warmth and genuine goodwill among all.

Many of the doors to the individual flats were left wide open – something you would never see in condominium-living.

There was also an unconditional atmosphere of giving and sharing.

Now and again one or two families in the block might be without enough food for a couple of days. The meagre salary brought home was needed to pay the rent, or fees owing to the school.

Recently, when word got around that two families, were without enough food – usually passed on by the children – others in the block sprang into action.

It’s worth remembering too that these are poor folks with just enough food to put on their own tables!

Yet everyone was willing to tighten his own belt that night and put aside what they could afford to just to make sure two families get to eat that night.

And age was no barrier to sharing.

With cash hard to come by – and with many of the kids aware of it – nine were spotted sharing one can of Coca Cola.

They were conscientiously passing it around, making sure that even the youngest got a share.

When I offered to get them each one, a 10-year-old quipped: "Thanks, but Coke tastes better shared."

I raise my hat to him.

Think what you may about the one- and two-roomers.

When it comes to goodwill and camaraderie, these people are definitely richer than me.

Some may say that the kampung spirit of old had gone to sleep in Singapore.

Others say that it needs to be reawakened.

But I can safely say that the kampung spirit at Block 191 Boon Lay Drive is suffering from insomnia and is working overtime.

Scent of a garbage bag

2008-10-23T12:35:00Z

Judith Tan examines why some aren't keeping their rubbish in the chutes.

IT SEEMS Singaporeans have got the recycling bug.

Many are making the effort to separate their recyclable trash from perishable rubbish.

Yet for every one who has got the message, just as many continue to drop their garbage outside the chute instead of throwing it in.

Like a scene from some strange planet, plastic bag after plastic bag of garbage dot the foot of chutes, like subjects bowing to stainless steel ruler royalty.

An after-dinner stroll along the corridors of many of the HDB flats with common rubbish chutes reveals the unwecolme sight – not to mention the smell of garbage wafting into the flats nearest to the chutes.

There is one thing to be said about leaving bags and bags around the chute, another about leaving bags and bags around the chute – untied!

‘Eau de leftovers’, the scent of used nappies and the aroma of decay would usually enter these homes like unwelcome dinnertime guests.

Student Stelle Tan, 16, whose Choa Chu Kang flat is diagonally across from a chute, told the Straits Times she loses her appetite each time the wind carries the smell into her dining room.

It’s the same for Mr Muhd Imran from Tampines, who said he was tormented by inconsiderate new neighbours leaving rubbish bags outside after 10 years of clean-air living.

His flat too, is the nearest to the rubbish chute along his level.

He even blogged about the incident out of frustration.

For many residents it’s a mystery.

Why do people, leave rubbish unattended along the corridor, without sparing a thought about cleanliness of the common area - or for the cleaner who has to face it in the morning.

It’s like the cleaner and the Town Council are on a treadmill.

Each morning they remove the often untied bags of rubbish and clean the corridors. But every day like clockwork, the plastic bags return – smell and all.

Recycling may be a lesson learned.

But the one lesson that’s still outstanding is consideration.

After all, if common areas resemble a landfill site and stink to high heaven then it’s time to remember your home is located there as well.

Durai's Paris Hilton-like release

2008-08-11T09:44:00Z

Judith Tan draws parallels between the release of Durai and Paris.

SOME were there long before sunrise, to catch TT Durai’s first moments as a free man.

But after a five-hour vigil, reporters and photographers crowding the gates of Queenstown Remand Prison began to feel like members of the Samuel Beckett Play “Waiting for Godot”.

Perhaps more so for ST photographer Shahriya Yahaya. He had been standing outside Queenstown Remand Prison since 5.45 am!

Was the former National Kidney Foundation chief, having served two-thirds of his three-month sentence for using a fake invoice to cheat the charity (taking into account time off for good behaviour), going to make an appearance?

Or would he - like the famed fictional character Godot - fail to show?

Then, just as we were beginning to think the tip-offs on his release were untrue, we caught a glimpse of a black labrador behind the heavy iron gates.

Three police officers with three labradors – a gold and two black – each appeared behind the gate with the dogs. They were sniffing in the drains and in the bushes there – the dogs, not the men, that is.

And at 10.43 am – almost 5 hours for Shah – out stepped THE man from a distant building within.

Gone was his immaculate jet black hair. In its place, a salt-and-pepper crew-cut, on a visibly thinner frame.

Durai nonetheless strolled confidently towards the prison gates.

Dressed in a long sleeved white shirt and dark grey dress pants, a smiling Durai, standing tall, thanked the guards.
“May I shake your hand?” he asked the warden.

Reporters were not so lucky.

In the style of American celebrity Paris Hilton when she was released from prison after violating a driving ban, serving around half of a 45-day sentence for violating probation on a driving ban in California, Durai had a burly guy who kept photographers and reporters at bay. Like Paris' bodyguards, the macho man quickly bundled his charge into a waiting black Paris-like Hyundai Tucson, which sped off, leaving the media in the dust.

After a five-hour wait, that's not hot.

The burly guard keeps the media at bay.
ST Photo: Shahriya Yahaya

Read the full story and watch his release here.