"I struggled to speak. Now I help others feel heard"
Acupuncture helped Fabian Cheuk overcome his speech disorder and inspired him to become a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physician. Grateful that his dream is coming true as he graduates from NTU, he is on track to helping others the way he was helped
by Brenda Kang / Photos by Hillary Tan
As a child, Fabian Cheuk couldn’t speak clearly. He knew what he wanted to say, but somehow, the words wouldn’t come out right.
“It’s like my brain has the message, but somewhere between the thought and the words that come out of my mouth, the signal gets scrambled,” he says.
These days, the NTU fresh grad speaks well. You can’t tell that he has a speech condition unless he mentions it.
When he was six, Fabian was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that affects speech and spent much of his childhood in therapy. At times, he attended sessions every few days, practising simple words over and over.
But progress was slow. Every conversation felt like climbing a mountain.
A sharp turning point
Then his parents decided to try something different – acupuncture.
To everyone’s surprise, the TCM treatment worked.
After just a few sessions of acupuncture around his head, Fabian began speaking more smoothly.
For the first time, he could form full sentences without stuttering. “It was such a strange and powerful feeling,” he recalls.
That planted a seed in him – to become a TCM physician himself.
“I see it as my way of giving back, to help others the way I was helped,” he says.
This calling led Fabian to NTU, the only local university that offers a TCM programme. He enrolled in the double degree course in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine in 2020.
Fabian is interning at NTU’s Chinese medicine clinic to sharpen his clinical skills before taking the Singapore TCM practitioners’ exam in August.
A safe space to speak up
However, studying Chinese medicine in university wasn’t a walk in the park. The five-year programme was filled with long hours, complex reads in two languages, and constant pressure to keep up.
“There were days I really doubted myself,” Fabian admits. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.
Aware of his speech condition, his professors and friends never rushed him and let him speak at his own pace.
“They never made me feel like I was any less,” Fabian reflects.
“This gave me the confidence to participate more in class and school events, to express myself without fear,” he adds.
He felt he found his voice – not just in clinics, but among friends.
Not just healing, but hearing
Now in his final internship as part of the NTU programme, Fabian rotates across three TCM clinics on and off campus, observing and treating patients.
He’s preparing to sit for the Singapore TCM practitioners’ exam in August, guided by NTU seniors who quiz him and offer exam tips.His goal is to work in a TCM clinic after getting his license. But his idea of healing goes beyond medicine.
Fabian also volunteered at the Singapore Boys’ Home and tutored youths who’ve had rough starts in life. Some shared their personal struggles, but Fabian didn’t always rush to fix their problems.
“I think of myself as a good listener,” he says. “Sometimes people don’t need solutions. They just need to feel heard.”
Trust your gut, take the leap
Fabian still remembers the words of a TCM doctor he shadowed during his NTU internship in Beijing. His NTU programme included two years of studying and training at a Chinese university.
While treating a patient, the physician said: “Life is too short to stay indecisive. Trust your gut. Take the risk. Go after what matters.”
The words weren’t meant for him, but they landed.
They reminded me that the people who move forward are the ones who don’t let fear hold them back.
– Fabian
Rooted in purpose
Today, Fabian is still working on his speech. Some days, especially when he’s tired or nervous, the old challenges surface. But most days, he speaks steadily and is proud of how far he’s come.
“I used to dream of becoming a TCM physician,” he says. “Now I’m almost there.”
And this time, he doesn’t need to pause before he says it.
Photo: Fabian Cheuk
Read more stories of grad-itude from the Class of 2025 here.
This story was published in the Jul-Aug 2025 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
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