Calligrapher's close brush: Melioidosis nearly cost him his leg — and life

KUALA LUMPUR: N. Poolohgasingam didn't think he was unwell when his son commented that he had lost weight during a visit in 2020. But had it not been for that observation, the calligrapher might have lost his life.

"I felt fine, eating and exercising as usual. When he said I lost weight, I didn't think so," he told the New Straits Times. However, his son insisted that something was off — his father didn't "look the same.



"That was when Poolohgasingam, now 75, decided to go to the hospital, where doctors confirmed that he had indeed lost weight since his last check-up. A barrage of tests failed to identify the cause.Slowly, Poolohgasingam began to experience spasms and had trouble keeping his balance.

"I couldn't walk. I rushed to the Emergency Room one night as I was sweating and my heartbeat was up," he recalled."It took them one-and-a-half months to diagnose my disease, and it was through trial and error.

They knew it was an infectious disease, but couldn't say what was wrong."Eventually, health authorities tested the soil near his apartment and confirmed the presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis. Poolohgasingam is believed to have been infected while cleaning a garden barefoot near his apartment.

"The garden was unkempt, but there is nothing like walking barefoot on grass," he said.While in hospital, his condition deteriorated to the point that doctors considered amputating his leg. He fought against the procedure.

"They said they could put me on antibiotics, but I had to be there for at least three months. I told them it didn't matter — I didn't want to be cut open," he said."My weight went down from 80kg to 76kg and then down to 56kg.

I didn't even dare to look at myself in the mirror."Although recovery was gradual, signs of improvement began to appear."I was slowly regaining my weight, and the chief physician told me that was a good sign," he said.

Five years on, Poolohgasingam still has concerns about melioidosis, as it can relapse."There is no more pain in my right leg, but I do not know whether they (the bacteria) are 100 per cent gone," he added.© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd.