COVER STORY

4 WELLNESS FOR ALL

Ten years after her much publicised liver transplant, Andrea De Cruz is glowing with health. She tells Allswell how the near death experience has transformed her life for the better. By FAIROZA MANSOR

The  liver  transplant  was  a  success,  but  the  doctor  told  Andrea  De  Cruz  that  her  lifespan  from  then  onwards  

would  possibly  be  for  26  years.That  was  in  2002,  after  Andrea  —  

then  27,  and  a  MediaCorp  artiste  —  had  nearly  died  when  her  liver  failed  because  of  the  Slim  10  pills  she  had  taken.  She  is  alive  today  because  her  knight  in  shining  armour,  her  then  fiancé  —  and  now  husband  —  fellow  artiste  Pierre  Png  donated  part  of  his  liver  to  her.  

Fast  forward  to  July  2012  and  a  bare-­‐faced  Andrea  is  at  the  photo  studio  looking  radiant.  As  she  waits  for  the  make-­‐up  artist  to  start  working  on  her  face,  an  upbeat  Andrea  chats  openly  about  how  things  have  gone  for  her  in  the  past  decade.

“I  don’t  think  much  about  the  [26-­‐year]  deadline  anymore.  If  the  liver  doesn’t  fail  me,  it  might  be  something  else,”  says  the  37-­‐year-­‐old.  “I  just  live  every  day  as  it  is.”

Taking  each  day  as  it  comes  for  

itlivingup

“PHOTOGRAPHER KELVIN CHIASTYLIST STEVE THIOHAIR MAXINE TAY, STORM CENTURY SQUAREMAKE-UP YUAN SNG CLOTHES LAI CHAN AT RAFFLES HOTEL

Andrea  includes  popping  an  array  of  pills  every  morning.  Among  them  are  anti-­‐rejection  drugs  as  well  as  calcium  pills,  glucosamine  tablets,  evening  primrose  capsules,  omega-­‐3  fatty  acids  soft  gels,  and  DHA  brain  supplements.  

Andrea  has  to  take  the  anti-­‐rejection  drugs  for  the  rest  of  her  life  to  prevent  her  body  from  rejecting  the  transplanted  liver.  The  other  pills  are  health  supplements  she  considers  necessary  for  her  body  to  receive  all  the  vitamins  and  nutrients  it  needs.

A  familiar  face  on  television  in  the  late  1990s  and  early  2000s,  Andrea  put  showbiz  on  the  back  burner  after  her  operation.  Now,  she  is  one  of  four  partners  of  CINQ  Salon,  a  hair  salon  at  Telok  Ayer  Street.  She  became  involved  

“I don’t think much about the deadline anymore. I just live every day as it is.”

in  2007  when  her  long-­‐time  hairstylist  and  “go-­‐to  guy  for  everything”,  Henri  Leong,  invited  her  to  come  on  board  the  team  as  a  partner.  A  second  branch  of  the  hair  salon  opened  in  November  2011  at  Scotts  Square.

 “When  I  was  a  little  girl,  I  loved  to  play  with  my  mother’s  and  elder  sister’s  hair.  I  would  ask  if  I  could  wash  their  hair,  and  then  I  would  blow-­‐dry  it  for  them,”  Andrea  recalls  with  a  smile.  

She  visits  the  two  salons  every  day  to  look  after  their  day-­‐to-­‐day  operations,  and  also  plays  a  part  in  managing  the  team  and  hiring  new  staff.

Beating the oddsApart  from  the  cocktail  of  pills  and  supplements  she  now  pops,  Andrea  has  changed  her  diet  as  well.  Raw  food  like  sashimi  as  well  as  some  kinds  of  sushi  are  now  out  of  bounds,  as  are  shellfish  —  among  them  crabs,  lobsters,  crayfish,  clams  and  shrimps.

COVER STORY

6 WELLNESS FOR ALL

laden  with  MSG  and  salt,”  says  Andrea  who  prefers  her  food  to  be  on  the  bland  side.  “At  least  I  can  be  sure  that  the  home-­‐cooked  food  I  eat  is  MSG-­‐free.  I  can  also  cut  back  on  the  salt  

content  if  needs  be.”She  adds,  “My  helper  cooks  really  

good  Indonesian  food  but  of  course  I  tell  her  to  go  easy  on  the  coconut  milk  in  dishes  such  as  sayur  lodeh  (vegetables  cooked  in  coconut  milk)  and  sambal  prawns.  

“My  mother  has  also  taught  her  to  cook  healthier  dishes  like  steamed  fish  and  soups.”

A  gym  bunny  before  the  operation,  Andrea  used  to  work  out  every  day  religiously,  joking  that  the  gym  was  her  second  home.  But  after  the  transplant  

she  has  gone  easy  on  herself.  These  days,  to  maintain  a  healthy  weight  of  51kg,  the  1.63m-­‐tall  Andrea  works  out  three  times  a  week.  She  jogs  for  30  minutes  around  her  neighbourhood  in  the  eastern  part  of  Singapore,  and  does  lightweights  in  her  home  gym  for  another  15  minutes.  .

“Running  —  or  just  sweating  it  out  in  general  —  is  one  of  the  things  that  helps  me  to  relax.  It’s  great  for  letting  off  some  steam.  And  getting  massages  too,”  she  says.

Another  “big  source  of  relaxation”  for  Andrea  is  spending  time  with  the  couple’s  two  dogs,  a  pair  of  shih  tzus  named  Woofie  and  Oreo.  

“No  matter  how  tough  my  day  has  been  and  how  stressed  out  I  am,  the  moment  I  pick  my  dogs  up,  I’m  immediately  calmer.  They  warm  my  heart,”  says  Andrea,  who  lets  on  that  she  hardly  goes  on  long  trips  because  she  can’t  bear  to  be  apart  from  her  pets  for  too  long.  

Surging forthHaving  a  support  system  —  helmed  by  Pierre  —  certainly  helped  Andrea  cope  with  her  condition  over  time.  

Another  lifestyle  change  she  had  to  make  is  to  keep  out  of  the  sun  because  sun  exposure  puts  her  at  risk  of  skin  cancer.  And  a  side  effect  of  the  anti-­‐rejection  medication  is  that  her  bone  density  is  being  compromised,  making  her  more  susceptible  to  osteoporosis.    

Now,  Andrea  makes  a  conscious  effort  to  eat  healthily.  Breakfast  is  usually  a  bowl  of  muesli  cereal  with  yogurt  and  a  slice  of  papaya.  Or  it  could  be  peanut  butter  on  wholegrain  bread  drizzled  with  honey,  and  a  banana.  Lunch  is  usually  simple,  perhaps  fish  soup.  And  as  much  as  possible,  Andrea  makes  it  a  point  to  have  dinner  at  home.

“I’m  out  most  of  the  day  at  the  salons  so  lunch  is  something  the  staff  buys  for  me.  I  request  for  non-­‐oily  dishes  but  outside  food  is  inevitably  

I want to live a full life and I want to live it well.

“

“The minute your skin is dry is when you start

looking old. So don’t ever let your skin

dry out.”

Jul-Sep 7

“Pierre  is  always  very  encouraging  when  it  comes  to  me  doing  something,”  she  says,  referring  to  how  her  husband  of  nine  years  always  lends  her  his  support  —  whether  it  is  starting  a  business  or  pursuing  a  pet  cause.

Andrea  is  now  involved  with  Make-­‐A-­‐Wish  Foundation,  an  organisation  that  grants  the  wishes  of  terminally  ill  children.  She  is  the  chairperson  of  its  fundraising  committee.  

“I  love  children  but  I  can’t  have  them  so  I  guess  it’s  my  way  of  giving  back,”  she  says.  “Somehow,  I  managed  to  rope  Pierre  in  so  he’s  now  the  ambassador  for  the  foundation.”

The  couple  also  finds  comfort  in  their  faith.  Both  Roman  Catholics,  they  are  regular  Sunday  churchgoers.    

Andrea’s  philosophy  in  life?  “There’s  no  point  crying  over  spilt  milk.  I  want  to  live  a  full  life  and  I  want  to  live  it  well,”  she  says.  

And  although  she  has  moved  on  from  showbiz  and  into  business,  Andrea  —  who  considers  hosting  her  forte  —  would  consider  appearing  in  front  of  the  camera  again  should  an  appropriate  opportunity  come  along.    She  hosted  the  second  season  of  Unexpected  Access,  a  television  series  on  MediaCorp’s  Channel  5  that  aired  in  February  2010.  The  first  episode  saw  her  gamely  following  the  exploits  of  a  group  of  volunteers  from  the  Por  Teck  Tung  Foundation  in  Bangkok,  Thailand.  Volunteers  at  the  foundation  tend  to  the  injured,  collect  the  bodies  (and  sometimes  the  remains)  of  road  accidents  and  crime  victims,  and  provide  funeral  services  for  them.

 Indeed,  nothing  much  ruffles  her  feathers  these  days.  When  asked  about  her  pet  peeve,  Andrea  pauses  and  thinks  hard  but  eventually  draws  a  blank.  “Life’s  too  short  to  sweat  the  small  stuff  you  know?”  she  counters.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH

1

For someone closing in on the big 40, Andrea scoffs at the idea of “ageing gracefully”. According to her, you can’t stop time or challenge gravity, but that doesn’t mean you just sit there and do nothing.

Make it a habit to moisturise your skin and apply sun block

“Water should be everybody’s buddy. Lately I have also been taking this organic,

caffeine-free tea that’s good for digestion. After the

transplant, I somehow have a lot of indigestion issues.

So the tea helps a lot.”

3Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

“As you get older, you don’t get enough

nutrients from the food you consume.”

4Be diligent about health supplements

“This is a tip I got from one of my favourite make-up artists and I found that it works better than moisturiser! I do it all the time, and I realise that when people comment that I have wrinkles on my face, it’s because

I have been slacking off the regime.”

2Sleep with a thin layer

of facial cream mask

“I always get asked if I would consider plastic surgery.

Why not! If I need it, I’d do it —

no big deal!”

Say yes to a little physical

improvement but don’t get obsessed

with the idea of perfection.5

PHO

TOS: G

etty Images; VG

O G

YM B

ALL: World of Sports, Paragon