SINGAPORE: Actor Thomas Ong has been forced to cut short his 45-day solo holiday in Japan after fracturing his right ankle in a fall.
But the 57-year-old remains grateful that the accident will not ruin his upcoming work commitments.
Ong revealed the injury in a Facebook post on Nov 1, sharing a photo of himself in a wheelchair at the airport, with his right ankle bandaged and a pair of crutches beside him.
The accident happened on Oct 25 when he slipped on wet stone steps after taking photos of a waterfall in the light rain. At first, he thought he had only sprained it.
“I thought at that time that it was just a minor sprain. I didn’t realise the injury was more serious than I’d imagined,” he told Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.
Despite the pain, Ong drove himself to a nearby hospital, where an X-ray confirmed the ankle fracture.
Doctors offered him two options: surgery to insert a metal plate, which could get him moving again after just over two weeks, or non-surgical treatment to let the bone heal gradually.
Both options required about six weeks of recovery.
Ong said he chose to skip the surgery and the plaster cast, preferring to rest at home and let the bone heal naturally.
The recovery period overlaps with a work trip on Dec 7, when he is due to lead a tour group to Europe.
“At that moment, I didn’t actually feel unlucky; instead, I felt a sense of gratitude I couldn’t quite put into words,” he wrote, adding that if the accident had happened two weeks later, he might have missed the trip entirely.
Although his 45-day Japanese adventure ended after just 10 days, Ong said he had no regrets as he had already enjoyed the country’s scenery, hot springs, waterfalls, and local food.
Joking about his unusual souvenirs, he wrote: “The souvenirs I brought back from Japan this time are two crutches.”
He ended his post with a final message: “See you next year, Japan.”