Duchenne: Shalom's Lifelong Partner-in-Crime — Shalom Lim Ern Rong

Three weeks ago, my girlfriend, Amanda, and I embarked on a unique journey by co-founding Rebirth Ensemble (RE), an art-making business with a distinct purpose. This partnership is deeply rooted in our shared passion for visual art, which has been a source of joy but also a progressively tricky challenge…

Since September, my life has moved in an exciting new direction, starting with becoming a marketing communications assistant at Shalom Medcare (SMC), a medical transport company here in Singapore. In case you’re wondering, yes, I realize it’s amusing that the company and I share the name “Shalom” — something…

Last Saturday, I had the honor of participating in the third Singapore Health Patient Advocate Connection event (SPACe) hosted by the SingHealth Patient Advocacy Network (SPAN). As a cast member of the incredible SPANtastic Theatre plenary skit team, I not only had the chance to perform, but also…

While observing World Duchenne Awareness Day over the weekend, I reflected on the journey my family and I have taken, which has been shaped by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This year the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore), or MDAS, celebrated the day during its annual Go the…

Earlier this month, I attended the debut of Stephanie Esther Fam’s play “Absence” at Singapore’s Gateway Theatre Black Box. Fam, a leading Singaporean poet and playwright in disability-led theater, is also a close friend of mine. Although I had known of her work for some time, we…

Starting last week, I’ve been trying to get my life back on track after enduring a few difficult months. As I recently shared, life has been challenging since I left my job in April. Then, in May, I faced an unexpected hospitalization, and June brought relationship tension. In July,…

Nearly two years ago, I authored a column for this website about my reflections on the semi-autobiographical rock musical “tick, tick … BOOM!” from American composer, lyricist, and playwright Jonathan Larson (best known for “Rent”). I’d just watched the 2021 film adaptation, directed by Larson’s…

Last month was tough for me. Although celebrating my partner’s birthday on June 12 was a welcome distraction, I still had a June I’d like to forget, mainly because I spent the entire month recovering from a foot infection that hospitalized me for the last three days of May. And…

Last week, my girlfriend and I caught the 2020 filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning Broadway production “Hamilton.” The recording, which we watched on Disney+, featured the original cast performing at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. Exactly a month ago, we attended a live performance of the…

Last Saturday, I attended a focus group on behalf of a local patient advocacy community of which I’m a member. The agenda for discussion was a nationwide allied health strategy here in Singapore to be implemented in coming years. For those unfamiliar with the term allied health, Kent State…

As my time with the assistance dog charity I work for comes to an end, I’m seeking opportunities to occupy my time and keep me meaningfully engaged. At the same time, I’m looking forward to discovering other means of employment to ensure that I realize my goal of self-reliance…

During the month of March, I took a break from writing my column because I was experiencing withdrawal from recently tapering off an antidepressant and a steroid medication, which took a toll on my mental and physical health. The withdrawal symptoms aggravated my comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…