A Singaporean man decided to turn his life around after suffering a stroke.

So persistent was he in training himself to becoming fitter that he became a competitive bodybuilder a few years later.

Collapsed at home five years ago

Kelvin Lim, 46, told Chinese-language evening newspaper Lianhe Wanbao that he suddenly collapsed at home in the morning five years ago when he was getting ready for work.

After he was sent to the hospital, he was diagnosed with two ruptured blood vessels in his right brain, and required emergency surgery.

Low chance of survival

The doctor said the risks involved with the surgery were high, and there was a 90 percent chance of Lim becoming a vegetable or dying.

"The rate of survival was only 5 to 10 percent," he added.

While Lim's family was devastated upon hearing the news, they eventually agreed to him receiving the surgery in order to save him.

Fortunately, the surgery was successful.

Lost his confidence

But although Lim was out of the woods, his ordeal was not over.

He experienced problems with the left side of his body, finding it hard to move, and needed to use a wheelchair to get around.

After he was discharged from hospital, he was completely reliant on others, and needed his wife to take care of his daily needs.

This caused his confidence to hit rock bottom.

Recalling the difficult times he had, he said: "I remember I often wet the bed, and I had to spend 15 minutes wheeling myself to a coffee shop even though it was only 300 metres away from my home."

"I felt that everyone was pointing their fingers at me, and I felt extremely down."

Decided to turn his life around

But Lim said he did not let the negativity get to him.

"I thought about my business and family. If I don't get a grip on myself, no one else can help me," he said.

"I can only rely on myself."

He then spent the next three years working on his physical rehabilitation, and gradually found the ability to move freely again.

But he did not stop there.

He decided to start working out actively to lose his extra weight.

Saying that he wanted to "change himself", he kicked the bad habit of bingeing, and also started swimming every morning.

He started going to the gym in the evenings as well, even hiring a personal trainer to help him.

Lim's efforts paid off.

Within a year, he saw drastic changes in his physical appearance, shedding nearly 20kg, and becoming the buff man that he is now.  

Last year, under the encouragement of his trainer, he even entered the Fitness Ironman 2018.

He came in third.

Top photo via 联合晚报 provided by Kelvin Lim