SINGAPORE — Noel Peter Xavier was pulled from the brink of death almost 11 years ago at the age of 40. Then a workaholic and a party animal, he felt unwell on May 13, 2013, after a party at his friend's place. «It happened to be Mother's Day that day, and I was rushing home to share a meal with my mother. She had prepared briyani, my favourite,» said Xavier, who was divorced at the time. «I was on my way home when I felt the left side of my body pulling away from the rest of me. It felt heavy. My head was spinning and I threw up. To steady myself, I sat by the kerb. That was when I blacked out. I guess passers-by thought I had a heart attack, and they called an ambulance.» He had suffered a stroke, and doctors found a blood clot the size of a golf ball in his brain. After two operations — during one of which he suffered another stroke on the operating table — Xavier fell into a coma, with doctors giving him only a five per cent chance of survival. But he overcame the odds and even wrote a book, titled Zero To Hero, which documents his journey out of darkness. It will be launched at the National Library in Victoria Street in early June. Read more