Written by Dexta Anthon
Malaysia records 26,565 new Covid-19 Cases amid lockdown, the headline says. Swipes away. The Pandemic wasn't an event that hit everyone lightly; deaths all around, numbers increasing, and so on. Throughout MCO, like all of us, Anthony dutifully tried to stay home in high spirits. Being the flight enthusiast he is, time passed in a blur of airport videos and podcasting, but an uncommon reoccurrence was his migraine during that point in time. For the most part, he assumed that the migraine was due to financial stress or from being out of jobs - the wedding industry requires gatherings, and it was prohibited for health precautions during the lockdown.
A few months have passed, and the headlines read, Malaysia's rapid response to COVID-19 outbreak an example for the world. Then MCO 2.0 was announced, Anthony's migraine was still ongoing, and his left eye started to have blurry visions - mentally deteriorating. "I went for a check-up with an eye specialist, and the result was only inflammation and ocular migraine, so I ended up with antibiotic and eyedrop - I had my worries, but I chose to believe the professionals on this" Things went on for 6 months and Anthony was consuming panadols every couple of days to ease his migraine and the pain in his left eye.
"In September 2021, my sister showed me her blood test report, and it immediately prompted me to a check-up since the headache was still there. The results were all fine, but the doctor still proceeded to send me for a CT scan," Anthony tells me. When the CT scan results were out, without much explanation, Anthony got sent to a Neurosurgeon - Doctor Albert Wong which also performed his surgery.
"8.2cm x 5.5cm x 6.6cm, that was the official measurements of my brain tumour". Without hesitations, Doctor Albert sent him for an MRI scan to get more detailed pieces of information about the tumour - it was a Meningioma
and the tumour was also benign.
"Looking back on life, I had no regrets". Anthony pursued his life extraordinarily as an emcee, and he never felt rue taking this path in terms of his career, as he got to experience an abundance of joyous celebrations and shared countless memories with the people all around.
As the idea of "death" started to linger in his mind, time was ticking, and Anthony needed to make the decision quickly. "After revisiting the doctor, he advised me to make the decision as soon as possible because the tumour of my size would push my brain to the right by 0.8CM if it grows further." A month passed, and he made the decision.
As the covid cases went down, so did his time for his surgery.
29th October 2021, the day of his left frontal craniotomy. "I wasn't nervous when I got pushed into the operating room; all I know is that I was in the best hands; beyond that state, it was really out of my control, and all I could do was just leave it to the surgeon and his operation team", he recalls.
Neurosurgeon In Central Jersey, Dr Jonathan H. Lustgarten, stated that performing a craniotomy and removing a tumour typically takes 4-6 hours. Anthony's surgery was predicted to take about 8 hours but turned 17 hours due to some complications - a Vascular Tumor in which he lost almost 6 pints of blood. "My surgery took approximately 17 hours to complete, and everyone in the operating room thought that this was it for me, but they were quick to identify the issue and saved my life", Anthony tells me.
"I still remembered vaguely when I woke up, Doctor Albert told me that my surgery was a success and that he almost lost me during the process". About 2 months after recovering, Anthony hosted his first wedding on 21st January 2022. "It felt surreal, from recovering in the ICU to holding a mic on my last gig of the year, I didn't just recover and host in one place anymore, but I got the opportunity to expand myself throughout the entire country. I met many great people and heard many stories, a handful of anecdotes and memories shared." "Surreal 'cause I still have a chance to be here and doing the things I love. I am grateful and blessed to be able to share this story with many others."
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