He had developed a fever during his trek to the mountain's 7,000mhigh peak in 1996, and his team doctor diagnosed him the same night with high-altitude pulmonary edema (Hape).
Trapped on a ridge due to heavy snow and unable to descend, Mr Lim, recalling his experience then, said he took medication that slowed down his breathing.
His team descended the mountain the next morning.
Mr Lim was lucky because he could have died without treatment, as Hape is a fatal form of severe high-altitude illness that can cause fluid to accumulate in the lungs.
Another fatal illness is high-altitude cerebral edema (Hace).
It affected Singaporean climber Shrinivas Sainis Dattatraya on Mount Everest, and he has been missing since last Friday, after reaching the summit.
Mr Shrinivas last sent a text message to his wife that day, saying he had reached the summit but was not likely to make it back down.
He told her he had Hace.
Hape and Hace are two forms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) that can affect climbers from around 2,500m to 2,600m onwards, said doctors.
This story is from the May 24, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the May 24, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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