Andrea DeCruz and Pierre Png reflect on her liver transplant, their marriage and overcoming fears
The celebrity couple reflect on their 23-year marriage and DeCruz’s life-saving liver transplant in a recent episode of On The Red Dot.
Pierre Png and Andre DeCruz reflect on her liver transplant in a recent episode of CNA Insider’s On The Red Dot. (Photo: YouTube/CNA Insider)
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In 2002, actress-entrepreneur Andrea DeCruz suffered from liver failure and had to undergo a liver transplant procedure, which saw her now-husband, Pierre Png, donating part of his liver. Twenty-four years on, the couple reflect on how it has changed the life of DeCruz, 52, in an episode of CNA Insider’s On The Red Dot.
The episode, uploaded online on Monday (Aug 10), saw the couple being asked how they would spend their last day alive.
Among the things DeCruz mentioned were carpentry and conquering her fear of heights.
“After the transplant, the whole realisation that I almost lost my life really hit me. I’ve not tried to conquer my fear of heights, or do anything extreme because I cherish my life more,” said DeCruz in the episode.
The episode then followed DeCruz as she tried to descend Split Rock Summit – an attraction at Rainforest Wild Adventure.
After conquering it, Png, 52, challenged De Cruz to take on the Giant Swing at Skypark Sentosa by AJ Hackett with him – a challenge she agreed to.
“Having Pierre by my side is everything. The courage always comes from him,” said DeCruz. “If this were my last day and he asked me to do something extreme, I would do it with him because I have him to hang on to for dear life.”
Recalling the life-threatening moment from years ago, DeCruz shared in the episode: “I had been filming a lot, I thought all I was feeling was just exhaustion. I didn’t know I was ill until my sister, who used to work for the National Kidney Foundation, looked at me. She said: ‘You need to go and see your doctor.’ I said, ‘Why?’ She said: ‘Your whites are very yellow.’
“So I went to see the doctor. She pressed on my tummy and she said, ‘Your liver is inflamed.’ From then on, everything just went downhill.”
She added: “I was probably admitted on Apr 11 and by May 7, I needed the transplant. There was a priest who came to visit me just before the transplant. I told him that if God takes me, I’m ready because I’ve lived a fulfilling life.”
Png also shared his own thoughts: “I remember during the transplant, Andrea and I had no blood relation. They wanted to establish that there was an emotional tie between Andrea and me. I’m her boyfriend and I proposed to her. She’s now my fiancee.”
The episode also saw the couple looking back on their 23-year-long marriage, while eating durian.
“We were married 16 to 17 months after the transplant,” said Png. “We had just gone through something very life-changing. Andrea had a transplant the year before. The transplant was a success. Her body accepted the liver, we got married as soon as possible.”
When asked by Png if she thought they “would last this long”, DeCruz replied before breaking down in tears: “Honestly, I never really gave it any thought. When we got married, I definitely hoped that we would last a lifetime until our last day on earth. Like I always mention to you, that if I go, I hope it will be going with you too, right?”
DeCruz later added that when she was ill, she “put a lot of faith” in Png “because he’s the best person to have around when the storm hits”.
“When he’s calm, I’m calm. I draw a lot of strength from him, and I think that helps in anyone’s recovery process,” she said.
Watch the full episode below.
Source: CNA/hq
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