Cardiac arrest a year ago, now shooting for language degree

Like many of his peers, Xu Zhetai heaved a sigh of relief when he received his A-level results yesterday. But, for this former Jurong Pioneer Junior College student, the journey to the examinations was no ordinary one.

Just a year ago, Xu had to relearn how to walk and speak after suffering a cardiac arrest during basketball training in school.

The then 17-year-old and his teammates had arrived at practice eager to try out the newly refurbished court. As his teammates did their drills, Xu was on the court doing his own exercises.

He does not remember what happened after, but the session took a horrid twist as he collapsed.

The teacher-in-charge and coach rushed to his aid and found that he was unresponsive and not breathing. The pair, along with teammate Joshua Lim, took turns to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and administer automated external defibrillator shocks until an ambulance came.

Lim, 18, said: "I immediately (tried to recall) how to make sure that he comes back to life. I didn't really feel scared at that point in time, but it sank in after that."

Doctors were able to revive Xu, but he was placed in an induced coma for a week as his condition was unstable. When Xu awoke from his coma, he was told that he had a congenital heart defect.

"I thought about how I was going to go out of shape in terms of my studies and that I wouldn't get to exercise," said Xu. "It was a lot to take in and I was devastated, but I was relieved that I was alive."

But his ordeal was far from over as he underwent two operations: open heart surgery and a second to fit an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

He spent a few weeks in hospital and three months recovering at home. It was tough as he needed help for simple actions like sitting up in bed and showering, owing to the chest scar from the operations.

He said: "Moving around was inconvenient - it was devastating and depressing to constantly have to rely on others."

Friends like Lim visited and kept him updated on what was happening in school. When he returned in mid-May, they helped him get through the challenges he faced.

As his memory was affected, he had to read a text a few times before he could retain the information, but his friends and teachers took the time to help him.

The school offered to give him more time to complete his examinations as he could not write as quickly as before, but he declined because he believed he would improve with time.

His civics teacher, Madam Shalwa Md Taib, noted: "He was a diligent student in J1. You couldn't tell that he had been away because he was quite focused. It was quite a miraculous recovery."

Now, Xu - who declined to disclose his A-level grades - hopes to pursue a degree in translation and interpretation or language studies at a local university.

Having returned to play basketball casually, he is now looking forward to competing in a tournament this month, his first since his recovery.

Reflecting on the past year, Xu said: "Life can be fragile - it's better to treasure everything, even if everything may not go your way."