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SINGAPORE \u2013 Local actor Thomas Ong has had to cut short a 45-day trip to Japan after fracturing his right ankle.<\/p>\n
The 57-year-old, who has returned to Singapore, shared on Facebook late on Nov 1 a photo of himself in a wheelchair following the incident in Japan.<\/p>\n
He did not specify where it happened, only telling Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in a text reply on Nov 2 that he had gone primarily to \u201cremote and sparsely populated areas\u201d during the trip.<\/p>\n
He recalled that there was a light drizzle on Oct 25, the day of the incident. He was walking down wet stone steps after taking photos of a waterfall when he slipped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought at that time that it was just a minor sprain,\u201d he told Zaobao. \u201cI didn\u2019t realise the injury was more serious than I\u2019d imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the pain, he drove himself to a hospital there, where an X-ray revealed a fracture in his right ankle.<\/p>\n
The doctor gave him two options, Ong said on Facebook on Nov 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first was to have an operation to insert a metal plate to stabilise the fracture, after which I would be able to move about fairly freely in just over two weeks,\u201d he wrote in Chinese.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second was to avoid surgery, have a cast fitted and let the bone heal gradually on its own.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhichever option I chose, the doctor said, I would need about six weeks to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ong did a quick mental calculation when he heard \u201csix weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was injured on Oct 25 and I am due to lead a tour group in Europe on Dec 7,\u201d he wrote, adding that it worked out to be exactly six weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that moment, I didn\u2019t actually feel unlucky. Instead, I felt a sense of gratitude I couldn\u2019t quite put into words.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he might not have been able to lead the tour in Europe had the incident occurred two weeks later.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, a fracture is never a good thing,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBut looking back, although this planned 40-plus-day trip to Japan was cut short after only about 10 days, I had already seen plenty of beautiful scenery and enjoyed more than my fair share of local delicacies.\u201d<\/p>\n