A RM5 Mil Deal Was Waiting For This Ex-Model Until An Accident Changed His Life Forever
One moment he was on the way to discuss a deal worth RM5 million, the next he was paralysed and had to begin life from zero.
By Tang Ruxyn — 20 Feb 2017, 08:42 PM
He was a vibrant, young man full of life and full of promise, but Leonard Chua Tze Yeu got into a near-fatal accident when he was just 24
Leonard came from humble beginnings, starting his career as a food and beverage (F&B) staff in Melaka right after his SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) examinations in 1998.
Soon, he joined MAS (Malaysia Airlines System) as an air steward and even started modelling on a part-time basis. By 2001, he left MAS to pursue his own businesses as an entrepreneur.
Life seemed to be sailing smoothly for him but all that changed on 6 October 2005. He was driving from Melaka to Kuala Lumpur to meet up with a potential partner about a new business venture that was said to be worth about RM5 million.
But on that fateful night, his car skidded and rammed into a tree along the Federal Highway.
It was as if life hit the reset button for him.
Some people may see Leonard as "the man who came back to life" because he really did. His heart had stopped — twice.
Following the tragic accident, he was admitted to the ICU (intensive care unit) of University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and spent six weeks there.
During this period of time, he suffered cardiac arrests which made his heart stop twice. The first time, his heart stopped for almost 10 minutes and the second time for about 3 minutes.
Miraculously, he survived both attacks, although the second attack had caused severe damage to his brain.
The car crash left Leonard's brain and body damaged and he became paralysed from his upper chest
The doctors said that it was nearly impossible to recover his normal hand functions due to his spinal cord injury.
He couldn't speak properly and was slurring as the second cardiac arrest incident caused damage to his frontal lobe.
Leonard, who was known for his looks and great communicative skills was forced to restart from zero.
Before he embarked on the road to recovery, Leonard was depressed and he even attempted suicide on three occasions. With time, he began to see life differently and chose to live despite the adversity.
In a time of weakness, Leonard depended on his family, particularly his mother, who became his pillar of strength.
He lived in the hospital for a total of six months, as he was warded in the hospital for rehabilitation for about four months. After receiving his initial treatment, Leonard spent another two years to relearn and regain his physical strength and limb functions.
The journey was a long and difficult one, but he persevered and kept pushing his limits.
Eventually, this once broken man worked his way to becoming whole again
The doctors said that he could only move his fingers very subtly as the functions were lost, but Leonard proved them wrong as he progressed from just drawing straight lines to writing full letters to gaining back full upper limbs' functions.
There were people who found difficulty in understanding him properly as he was slurring, but Leonard was relentless and went for extensive speech therapy.
He was going to give his best at this second chance in life.
As he worked tirelessly to regain control of his body and life, Leonard found himself to be a symbol of hope, especially for those who were disabled by road accidents.
Today, Leonard may not be able to walk but he's grown into a person who can stand tall as an inspiration to many who have heard him speak
The last few years saw how this man, whose hopes and dreams were shattered after a horrifying accident, went on to rebuild a life even when he's being confined to a wheelchair.
Despite his limitations, he created a lot of "firsts", like being the first disabled CLEO bachelor finalist in Malaysia in 2010 and went on to become the first disabled male model in Malaysia. He even won several awards such as the Prestige Top 40 Under 40 in the Community Service Award, the Guang Ming HERO award, the 2015 Asia Golden Dragon Award: Asia Outstanding Community Contribution Award.
Leonard, who has gained a reputation as a motivational speaker, has addressed numerous crowds of different backgrounds to tell his story - of how he walked out of depression into victory.
This year proved to be another exciting year for Leonard as he achieved yet another milestone in his life, for he is one of the esteemed presenters at TEDxYouthKL.
Leonard's story is one of many others featured on the Malaysian City Life series on SAYS. Do you have a story or experience to share, or have you seen any we should write about?
SUBMIT YOUR STORY NOW. FB message us or email us at [email protected] about your intent to share something with us. It could be about a particular time in your life as an urban city-dweller in Malaysia, or it could be a story you've seen or heard.
We'll get in touch with you for your story to be featured on SAYS!
Stay tuned for the next episode!