By Leow Si Wan

THE retina in Chia Zhe Hui's right eye got detached just six weeks before he was due to sit for the 2007 A-level exams.

That meant yet another eye operation and another year at St Andrew's Junior College for the lanky and bespectacled 20- year-old.

'I was born with weak eye genes. By the time I was eight, my myopia was 1,000 degrees,' he said yesterday.

'As I grew older, I thought my condition would stabilise. There wasn't much issue over my eyesight. I just knew that my glasses were thicker compared to others' and that I had to avoid vigorous activities.'

He did not figure that joining the secondary school band counted as such an activity. While trying to hit a high note on the euphonium one day, he felt a sudden pain in his right eye.

Since then, Zhe Hui's retina has been detached six times, the last in July last year. He is now almost completely blind in his right eye. The vision in his left is marred by long-sightedness, developed as a result of cataracts. He also suffers from limited peripheral vision.

To make things easier for him, his lecture and tutorial notes were printed out on A3 paper. He also used a magnifying glass when necessary.

For his A-level examinations, he had 50 per cent more time to complete his paper as he had difficulty making out the text.

Yesterday, accompanied by his parents, he found out that he had scored As for Physics and Chemistry and Cs for General Paper and Mathematics in the A levels last year.

He wants to pursue business management although he is 'open to all options'.

'If I can go to university, I'll do as much as I can until I can't,' he said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.