DJ Rod Monteiro is currently in SGH for an acute stroke. (Picture from Rod Monteiro)
Radio deejay Rod Monteiro has found out that he had an acute stroke on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old host currently warded in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) had felt a "strange numbness" in his right arm and leg on Tuesday morning. The feeling persisted and he was eventually hospitalised in SGH.
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore on Wednesday morning, the popular DJ sounded weaker but upbeat.
He said: "The doctors have told me that what I have is an acute stroke. It is not a full-blown one, thank goodness, so I now have to watch my diet and stress levels."
The avid sportsman shared that he has high cholesterol.
"I don't like oily food but I do like to eat food such as seafood which has high cholesterol. I now have to cut down, that's sad.
"A dietician has also told me to eat a lot of fibre and fruits," Monteiro added.
His wife, he shared, is extremely worried.
"She is a housewife so she cooks. She is very worried, and told me I have to change my diet. She said, 'no more mayonnaise in your sandwiches!'", said the self-proclaimed Thousand Island and mayo lover.
When asked about how he is feeling, Monteiro replied "Absolutely worried".
"I don't know when I will be discharged. I am still on the hospital bed and will undergo more checks to find out what is happening. Results will probably be out later today, or tomorrow," he said.
A spokesman for 91.3FM said that it will work closely with Monteiro and other deejays to ensure that they lead a "balanced work lifestyle".
A typical workday for the veteran DJ starts at 4am and ends at about 2pm.
She added: "Rod is a strong guy full of passion and love for sports and radio...we look forward to having him back with us soon."
What led up to his hospitalisation
On Wednesday, Monteiro had told Yahoo! Singapore that he first felt numbness in his right leg while hosting his show at 6am on Tuesday.
He said, "I have never experienced such a feeling and I didn't know what it was. By 7am, the numbness spread to my arm. At about 8am, I felt dizzy and when a song was playing, I tried to lie down and put my legs up."
He added that his main thought then was "to finish his show."
When the numb feeling continued through a meeting he had chaired on the first day of the new year, he decided to go to the hospital.
"We first drove to a private hospital in the east but the admission cost and cost of the MRI scan was too expensive so I decided to go to SGH," he said.
He then added with a laugh, "No money, i just lost my bonus of $10,000!"
The sporting deejay had given his annual bonus to a lucky listener who managed to guess the serial letters and numbers on his $10,000 note in a game to celebrate FM91.3's fifth anniversary.
He also shared that the first person he called was his insurance agent, who has since visited him in hospital to find out about his condition.
"You take such things for granted when you are well, but I called my agent yesterday to find out if I have cash to cover my hospitalisation," he said.
His colleague, Gerald Koh who goes by Boy Thunder on air also told Yahoo! Singapore that the news of Monteiro's hospitalisation came as a "shocking" pieces of news.
"He is really a very healthy who runs and does a lot of sports. I will definitely visit him later and find out more," said Koh.
Monteiro is a keen golfer, cyclist and long-distance runner. In the recent Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon which took place in December, he finished a 12km run in one hour and 56 minutes.
91.3FM had said that there is no confirmation on when Monteiro would be back on radio to host his daily morning programme 'The Married Men'.
The station added that its music director JJ will be filling in for Monterio on his morning segment which he co-hosts with Andre Hoeden and Jillian Lim until further notice.
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