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About six months after his sudden brain haemorrhage, local songwriter and music producer Lee Si Song is thankfully recovering well.
According to a post shared by his twin brother Lee Wei Song last October, the 59-year-old experienced a sudden brain bleed in September while in Beijing. The medical condition was fortunately detected early at that time, and Lee Si Song was rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment.
In a recent interview with Zaobao.sg, Lee Si Song shared that he'd returned to Singapore at the end of last year to recuperate.
He is also advised by his doctor to do exercises such as cycling to build leg strength.
“In the past week, I cycled twice for 22km each time, gradually challenging myself. If I don’t exercise, my leg strength will keep declining,” he said.
About two weeks ago, Lee Si Song returned to work and even recorded new songs for a singer. He, however, admitted that the process was "quite tiring" after being away from the studio for nearly half a year.
“At first, I was worried that my mental capacity wouldn’t be able to handle it. After all, there’s a lot to think about, how to guide the singer into the spirit of the song, how to teach them to convey its mood…”
Fortunately, as time passed, he gradually adapted to the work rhythm.
He also spent three days recording one song to make sure he could keep up physically.
"I would ask for breaks in between. The singer needs it, I need it too. We’d take a short five-minute rest before continuing," explained the songwriter.
“There’s a rumour in the industry that I’m a very fierce producer. That’s not true, I’m actually kind and approachable, not as scary as people say. We always take breaks, we’re not robots," he quipped.
Looking back on his rehabilitation journey, Lee Si Song said the most challenging part was the physical therapy that began two weeks after the surgery.
“At that time, my right brain didn’t seem to have fully recovered, so my sense of balance was very poor, I couldn’t even stand up," he recalled.
"But I’m stubborn and like to challenge myself, so I forced myself to stand up and accidentally aggravated old injuries in my ankle and knee.”
His injury then prompted his doctors to pause his physical therapy, which caused him to be emotionally affected.
“I felt like I had failed and was very disheartened. But fortunately, my family and medical staff kept encouraging me. After resting for almost five weeks, I restarted therapy," he said.
By then, Lee Si Song's right brain had recovered about 90 per cent.
"When I stood up again, it felt completely different. My balance felt natural, almost the same as before I fell ill. But since I hadn’t been moving for a long time, my legs were quite weak. So I began training every day, gradually regaining strength in my legs.”
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
