If you bump into 23-year-old Azerael Azhar at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), you wouldn’t believe how much this boy has gone through in life just to make it to where he is right now.
After hearing his story, you’ll reflect on your own life and ponder if you’ve been taking many things for granted.
His tattoo on his hand is a stark reminder of his painful past and as a nurse-in-training, he had to conceal them with a skin-coloured plaster to prevent patients from losing confidence in him.
It only costs approximately $300 for remove tattoo in Singapore but Azy doesn’t have the money for it. He’s saving up bit by bit.
Money has always been an issue for him.
Broken family, gang involvement
He used to top his classes in lower primary but his grades slipped after his parents divorced when he was in primary four.
His mum used to help him with his studies but stopped after she had to juggle two jobs and had no time for him.
Azy’s parents’ divorce affected him so much that he didn’t have the motivation to study despite making it to express stream in Secondary school.
He got bullied in school after he became a student councillor and reported misbehaving of students to teachers.
He was also often teased for being fat so he joined a gang who could provide him “protection”.
That was when he got tattooed but he got out of the gang when one of his friends got arrested and sent to a home.
Being involved in a gang meant that he didn’t have much time to focus on his studies – he was absent from three O-level examinations and did not qualify for polytechnic.
Life was tough for him and it took a turn for the worse after his O-levels.
Shuffling between JB and S’pore
His mother remarried and decided to relocate to Johor Baru (JB) for its lower cost of living and told Azy and his brother to think of ways to help themselves.
He had to travel in and out of JB for his NS and eventually was diagnosed with depression after he got ostracized in NS for his obesity.
He even thought of ending his life.
Fortunately, things started to look up for him after he became a medic in NS and the injured recruits whom he attended to, were very appreciative of his efforts.
He was so inspired that he wanted to take up nursing in ITE but he didn’t have money and his family was not supportive.
They asked him, “Why waste time just to wash people’s backsides?”
Inspired by a dying patient, got kicked out of home
So he placed his nursing plans on hold until he met a former drug addict who was receiving dialysis.
The guy was around his age and told Azy that he was going to die soon and asked him to go back to school for him.
That was his turning point and he never looked back since.
He applied for the National ITE Certificate course in nursing, and got accepted by the school after an interview. He did all these without his parents knowing.
When his parents eventually knew, they were vexed about the finances but Azy told them he would find money and sustain himself.
A man of his word, he became a part-time food delivery rider and earned $600 to meet his living expenses.
After he returned home to JB from work, he had to continue studying. That drained him out and affected his focus in class.
Then, he got kicked out of home after quarreling with his parents and beaten up by his stepfather.
His aunt, his saviour
Life was really harsh towards him but he still didn’t give up.
Thankfully, his aunt took him in despite the five-room flat being overcrowded with nine other relatives.
He could sleep on a sofa and had a drawer to safe-keep his belongings.
He would cook his own meals for the day to save money and was also strict about exercising and that helped him to shed off many kilos.
He did so well for his studies in ITE, topping the Director’s List a few times, that he would be able to skip the basic nursing module in the polytechnic.
Azy’s currently a second-year nursing student at ITE (East) and is on a 10-week attachment in an oncology ward at TTSH.
He is doing his best in hope of securing a sponsorship by the hospital for his tertiary education.
Many may not think highly of ITE but to Azy, it saved his life.
“ITE is a very good platform to start off with, to improve oneself. ITE has really opened doors for me…My end goal is to come back to ITE to become a lecturer, to share my knowledge and experience with future nursing students.”
Given his unwavering determination to push on in life despite so many huge hurdles, we can be sure that Azy will definitely go far in life. We sincerely wish him all the best!
Photo credits: Channel NewsAsia
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