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Aircraft give him the jitters
 He was one of two Singaporean soldiers seriously injured when a Taiwanese fighter jet crashed into a military base in Taiwan on May 11, 2007. Today, Mr Ramakrishnan Karthigayan, 27, shows no emotional signs of the accident which killed two Taiwanese and three Singaporean soldiers. Physically, though, the scars remain.
Then 23 and doing his national service, he suffered second- and third-degree burns to half of his body, mostly on his upper and lower limbs. There were superficial burns to his face too. “The badly burnt areas were
charred. My face was pink except for my eyes, which had been protected by spectacles. My hair was burnt too,” said the civil servant.
Burnt areas were patched with skin cultures, skin harvested from unburnt parts and imported donor skin. For three months, he wore a pressure garment, which is like a diving suit, to prevent big scars from forming. The scars also itched, adding to his discomfort. But he returned to his normal routine after six months, thanks to
supportive family and friends, and because he stayed positive. After he was discharged from hospital, he had four more operations in addition to the 12 he underwent in hospital. His last follow-up with his doctor was in January.
To this day, Mr Ramakrishnan, who has a girlfriend, can get jittery when a plane flies past. People look at his scars, but few stare. A curious few would ask if he is suffering from a skin condition. Looking back, he said: “I accepted the accident from the start and focused on getting well for the sake of my loved ones. What happened
helped me mature. It made me realise that the play will end some day.
How fruitful are you going to make your life? I now value the people around me a lot more.” He is studying for a degree and has started learning to play the sitar, something he had always wanted to do.
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