Making do with Whatever Available

Today my brother, Jonathan, Lu Ting, Jeraldine (with a “J”) and I went to visit Uncle T. We spent all our time listening to his sharing, most of which were more or less repeated stories about his past careers, his dating stories, cherishing education opportunities, etc. However for today, there was one topic he shared that caught my attention.

Uncle T was born in 1930. Back when World War II struck Singapore in 1941, Uncle T was just a little boy. However, from his expression and emotions, I can tell that the state of chaos he experienced was something that remained rooted in his head over all these years…

Just right as the bombings from the Japanese started, everybody got into a state of panic and went about rushing to the provision shops to purchase dried rations like canned food and biscuits.

There were no bomb shelters to hide and the only thing everybody can do is to just hide at some perceived “safe areas” and hope for the best.

When all supplies ran out, everybody had to improvise and try their best to search for all possible food sources to fill their stomachs. People grew tapioca and went about to not only eat the tapioca flesh, but to also stir fry the tapioca skin with vegetables and maybe some curry powder.

From this little extract of what Uncle T shared about the war, it reminded me that most elderly we serve were the pioneers of Singapore who been through tough times like the war; they were the ones who had to make do with whatever they have for survival. If people like Uncle T and his family managed to overcome adversities and make it through the war, I do believe that maybe we 21^st century Singaporeans should also carry on with similar attitudes from them by cherishing the opportunities we have ahead of us and be more appreciative to all luxuries around us.

- Joel Chew

The Sparkle and the Samsui Woman

Hi, this is the first time that I am writing in this blog. To me, it is very different from the usual reflection sessions after the visits, as my reflection tend to be very descriptive in nature. Through writing in this blog, it allows me to have a deeper reflection of the visits that I had and be part of a bigger effort to preserving the life stories of the elderly beneficiaries.      

On 24th January 2015, Siyao, Sumei and I visited Mdm G. Even though Mdm G is not a beneficiary under TOUCH Community Services (TCS),  we visited her as she needed help in changing her bedsheet and cleaning the house. Upon entering her house, what struck me was the cleanliness of the house, as the house seemed to sparkle (The sparkling could be due to the sunlight shining to the room. Nonetheless, it was still very clean) . After exchanging pleasantries, I was asked to clean the light bulbs on the ceiling. While I was cleaning them, she shared with us that she could no longer do so as she would felt dizzy while standing on higher position. On one occasion, she fell down while cleaning the light bulbs. Fortunately for her, her bed cushioned her fall. Her anecdote made me be aware of the difficulties that the elderly may face while performing certain chores, especially when their physique becomes weaker with age. It could potentially become a life-threatening situation should they have a mishap while doing their chores. Such an awareness does provide me with a greater sense of purpose to visit and help the elderly. 

After we have finished cleaning Mdm G's house, we went to Mdm W.'s house. As Mdm W. could only speak Cantonese, only Sumei was able to communicate with her (I could understand a bit of Cantonese, but I could not speak the dialect and had to rely on Sumei' s translation to get a better picture). As she was mentioning about her interaction with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Sumei asked her if she had any picture of her with the Prime Minister. She was very happy to show us the pictures. Prior to this visit, I was aware that she likes to show pictures of her with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It makes me wonder why she could be so elated despite repeating the action of showing these pictures many times to different volunteers. Listening to her narration made me realize that she enjoyed sharing her life stories with us and the volunteers. Moreover, the photos that she had kept so meticulously symbolized her desire to treasure and to remember the people that she cared about in the photos. 

One particular photo which I recalled vividly was her marriage photo, which was taken at Tekka around sixty years ago. Even through the photo was taken very long ago, the photo was still very well preserved, which showed that she must have loved her husband very much. Unfortunately, her husband died during Japanese Occupation and she had to raise her two children herself during that period. It reminded me of the related life stories that I had heard from other elderly beneficiaries, such as losing their parents during Japanese Occupation and the chaotic situation during that period. I was always told that I was fortunate to be born in this period. However, these advice seems so empty until I listened to the first-person accounts of the people who had experienced Japanese Occupation and how they survived that period.

For Siyao and Sumei, the life stories of Mdm W were certainly an eye opener to them. This was especially so as they were not from Singapore and the life stories of Mdm W required the understanding of Singapore's history, such as Samsui women and the existence of the Tekka market. As Mdm W. mentioned about her life as a Samsui women, it gave them an idea of the life that she had and the life of a typical Samsui women, who were part of the nation-building effort in the past (I had to explain a bit more then to provide them with a better idea, as Mdm W.'s description was a bit abstract for them).

Despite these short visits, each visit allows me to gain insights about the lives of these elderly, and these insights spur me to come for the subsequent visits and makes me realize that the time spent to visit and accompany them is definitely meaningful. 

-Yen Sin

24 Jan - A day to remember. A history not forgotten.

This is the second consecutive week where I had visited Mary and Mdm L. For those whom have yet to see them in person, they are our (relatively) new beneficiaries that joined us in the latter half of 2014. I was with Joelle and Yen Sin the week before and last week I was with Hui Ping. As usual, both Mary and Mdm L are both very cheerful and even though I'm supposedly there to accompany them, they never fail to entertain me and keep me company instead! 

Over the two weeks that I've visited them, I have gotten to know more about their past and present. With each new story that they've unearthed, my affection for them grows stronger each time. Mdm L is a devout christian and a very compassionate woman. When she was younger, she used to be a volunteer like us even when volunteer corps used to be almost non-existent back then. She also used to work in an old folks' home as well. When she heard from her friend that the elderly around the Geylang Bahru area were lacking volunteers to take care of the elderly residents, she took up the mantle and braved all odds to be there for them. She was a source of motivation and inspiration for the elderly beneficiaries and volunteers alike. Even now as old age has caught up to her, I can still feel that aura emanating from her, her exuberance almost contagious. There were numerous occasions where she would get overly excited in recounting her tale that she would unknowingly revert to cantonese even though we do not understand. But after seeing how recounting her memorable events made her laugh and be happy, it made us happy too! :) 

Mdm L is also an avid singer with a powerful voice even at her age! I must say that I was astounded and impressed when she demonstrated her vocal prowess when I first met her. She has had many dedicated vocal instructors when she was young and had put her beautiful voice to good use. The video below is just a preview of how well she can sing and it is also her favourite song. The lyrics are actually found in a framed picture that she hangs just above her bed! 

Of course not forgetting our cute and huggable Mary! :D Even though Mary and Mdm L are room-mates, their shared history goes much deeper and longer than that. Ever since Mary's foster mother passed away when she was young, Mdm L has been her guardian and taken care of her even up till now. Since young, Mary has had a difficult childhood, but that didn't stop Mdm L from casting away her fears and doubts to raise her as her own child. Instead, through much guidance and resolve, Mdm L was able to overcome all odds and nurture Mary such that she is now able to look after herself. Now that Mdm L herself is not as fit as she once was, Mary takes it upon herself to take care of the person who used to take care of her and painstakingly raise her up. As I'm typing out this post, this moving tale of 'Mother and Daughter' has touched me dearly, and I can't help but feel my skin tingle every time I pause to think about it.

Apparently Mary is still quite vain even at her age. Every time after we take a wefie, she would request to see how she looks like in the photos. Two weeks back, after she returned home, we saw her combing her hair. When she saw us eyeing her, she immediately became self-conscious and put down her comb. We could tell she was very pai seh when she realized we were watching hahaha... 

Mary is also an animal lover and keeps pet fish at home! If I'm not mistaken, she used to keep cats at home too, but couldn't continue to own them because somehow Mdm L's nose doesn't agree with cat fur :( 

Now that Chinese New Year is almost here, both of them also seem to be switching to the festive mood as well! They were very delighted when some other volunteers came by their home another day and made them some DIY goldfish. Mary was so lovable when she told us that she dared not display it for fear that it might somehow get damaged, so she keeps it in a box to safeguard it. We must really mean a lot to them for her to take out their precious goldfish and show it to us! ;) 

Finally, nearing the end of the post! The picture above is the water plant that the chinese like to grow during CNY. Mdm L says that it's tradition and that growing it will bring prosperity and good fortune in the coming year. With that, I also hope that T.H.E.S will continue to prosper and enrich the lives of both our elderly as well as volunteers! Yay! :)

- Andy

24th Jan: A day of buttery coffee

It’s the 24^th of Jan, and once again I came back like any other day that I have been doing so for the past 3 plus years or so. Never fail to bring back  fond memories whenever I step into geylang bahru.

On this day, I, together with 2 other fellow volunteers from MINDSville (sorry that I cant remember the names :X), visited Uncle T for his usual cup of buttery coffee at the coffeeshop nearby. I guess he was initially waiting anxiously for volunteers like us to bring him down for his once-a-week kopi session? When we went up to his flat, he was already wearing his nice attire, ready to go down at any moment. So as I call out to him, he just went about asking who we are and whether we are some of the familiar volunteers (I shall touch on it later). Nonetheless, I just assure him that we are the usual students that will accompany him every Saturday morning, and after much persuasion, we bring him down for his tasty buttery coffee. In case anyone doesn’t know, Uncle T likes to drink coffee with the addition of 3 slices of butter. According to him (and perhaps from researcher too), having buttery coffee is actually beneficial for your health. For uncle T’s case, it was said that it helps to clense the body by lubricating your digestive system and all, and all the ‘Bad stuff’ will be cleansed away after a visit to the toilet.

And so it started like any other visit, we interact with the elderly to make his day a better one. I bought newspapers and herbal tea for him while giving the chance for the 2 new volunteers to interact with him and listen to his stories. However, I think Uncle T isn’t very happy that day as he feels a little moody. I guess he misses some of the volunteers that used to visit him but came less often due to sch or work. As we converse throughout the session, he occasionally asked us about Lin mei mei/yang mei mei/ah hai or whether they are here today. As much as we don’t wish to disappoint him, the only words we can say to him is that they are busy and couldn’t make it for visit. And of course he may temporarily forget about these before bringing them up minutes later. And overall, we only manage to accompany him for about one and a half hours before he decided to go back home. 

After bringing him back, my group just went over to Mdm H’s house for a short stay before we went down for debrief. However, whats going on in my mind during the briefing was just about the look in Uncle T’s face after the kopi session. I guess he really misses quite a number of people that tends to be more close to him, and I felt a little sad that I may not be able to make his day a little better despite trying my best to crack lame jokes and asking funny things about him that he is capable of sharing.

 I guess the takeaway from this session for me is that all of us may think that we are just volunteers and we are merely there to accompany them and help them in whatever way we can. However,  I hope we can bear in mind that we too can gradually become good friends, good grandsons/granddaughters to them in the long run. There are many times where we may think it is just another day to visit them, just another usual Saturday morning where we share a short 1 or 2 hours with the elderly. Yet these little moments are what they look forward to and they cherish every moment the time that they spent with us. Gradually, we may have other commitments and we may not be able to visit them often, but you should know that we are always in their hearts, always in their mind. We aint just volunteers to them, but to them we are something more. Call it friends, call it grandchildren if you want, the thing is this is a bond that is gradually formed as we interact and share our small moments together.  So I hope that we don’t just visit them for this phase of our academic life, and went on being busy with our own stuff in the next. They misses us,  they probably will all the time. I hope we, as much as I, wont forget to go back and look for them as we move towards the next year or the next phase. To some of us it may be a CCA. To them, it is a lifetime of friendship. So cherish every moment with them, and make their every Saturday a good one (which I still have a long way to learn:p) and paint a smile on their face :)

Chaur Ann

24th Jan visit - Mdm. C

Indeed, no matter the number of times I visit our elderly seniors, there will be new glimpses into their past that I will discover. Furthermore, their lives can be vibrant and  fresh as well - as I've been experiencing since the beginning of visits in 2015.

On 24th Jan, I paid a visit to mdm. C's house with another volunteer Lynn. As per usual, we would help with her household chores - such as mopping the floor, wiping her windows and other tasks.

I am amazed at how forgetful I am, as mdm. C has particular requirements in the layout of her household items. Despite having been there a number of times, I would still lose track of certain arrangements and be subjected to her loving chides :) On this visit, we were relatively efficient and thus - had more time to chat and hear from mdm. C about her past encounters - love, laughter, tears and all!

Amidst all her sharing, a particular account of hers struck me more than the rest. The mdm. C of today is full of energy and vibrancy. Despite having certain sicknesses, she still remain actively involved in community activities and lends a helping hand to her less mobile neighbors. Nonetheless, she wasn't always this way.

Without going into too revealing details, she actually suffered a lowpoint in her life previously. After a string of incidents, she had a bout of depression. However, after a period of medication and therapy - she emerged from the period stronger than before.

Although it wasn't my first time hearing her experience, it certainly was deeper in detail than before. Surely, her situation may not be foreign to some. That is why regular time spent and interacting with seniors living in solitude is valuable and somewhat necessary. Nonetheless, there is a silver lining to this account! :)

Without that lull period, mdm. C probably wouldn't have a substantial change in her lifestyle. It is indeed a testament that transformation is possible - regardless of age. It is never too late to enter a next phase of life, regardless of your age. I have learnt much from mdm. C's life, and I will continue to learn much in my subsequent visits. Looking forward to hearing from her new experiences as well! :D

24 January. Just another Saturday morning :)

Hi everyone! Charmaine here :) So today I was assigned to visit Mdm H. with 2 other people! But when it was time to go up to visit the elderly, the other 2 volunteers still haven't reach so I texted and called 1 of them but no reply so I went up alone :(

I was actually quite sian that I had to go for visit alone BUT I was actually okay with it coz like I feel that I can click quite well with her and also like I've visited her quite a few times already so I thought that it wouldn't be awkward or weird at all!! INDEED, it wasn't awkward at all hahaha. I just helped her with her housework and kept asking her questions on how to do this, how to do that, which mop to use etc hahaha (Hopefully she won't think that I'm damn annoying coz i'm really not very sure with the "procedures" and I was damn scared that she will scold me if I did something wrong. But luckily she didn't!)

So first, I helped her to dust her 2 carpets... Actually I always kinda dread doing that coz like my nose VERY SENSITIVE to dust then I will keep sneezing. 真的不出我所料, I kept sneezing after that... Then I kept taking Mdm H's tissue to blow my nose hahaha. Then I went on to help her sweep the floor (while continuing to sneeze like mad) then she kept asking me if I'm having a flu then like she say nowadays alot of people keep falling sick and stuff hahaha so I just listened to her talk while I continue sweeping~ Oh so she went on to ask if I had a flu again after saying what she wanna say then I just said yeah coz I didn't want her to feel bad that I kept sneezing coz I was helping her to dust her carpet haha... It's a lie but it's 善意的谎言 :) hahaha 

Then after sweeping the floor, I went on to mop the floor for the first round! Then the whole time she just kept asking why only I came to visit her today. So I told her like there was supposed to be 3 people visiting her today lah but somehow only left me LOL.Then she kept asking like in total how many people came for visits today and like how many elderly do we have in total and like how many volunteers will be in each elderly's house. (Hahaha I was secretly thinking like is it like she feel that like why so unfair to her, only one person visit her while other groups have like more people hahaha.) Then she went on to talk about the other two people who were supposed to come but in the end did not appear. So she kept saying like why the other two so bad, so "PAI SI" (naughty in hokkien) HAHAHA then I felt kinda helpless at that point in time also coz like I also dk how to answer her coz I also want to know where the other two went... So I just tried to like talk about something else... Hmm but not bad lah I get to 二人世界 with her :D

Then she suddenly asked about HK仔... like if he came today and stuff then I said yeah then I think she wants to see him lah but she didn't really say...

Okay so after all these convos, I finished mopping for round 1 already. Then I thought next is like just dry the floor with the dry mop can already but then actually there is round 2 of mopping... HAHA I WAS SHOCKED, but not complaining~ In the end I still did it! Haha 
Then she went on to ask if any other people coming again... So I told her yeah coz I was told that YS's group would come over...

So I went on to prepare the water for the second round of mopping. Then when I brought the pail of water out, she asked me to sit down and wait for the others to come first and let them do it coz she didn't want me to work so much and also partly coz she thought that I was "sick" from all the sneezing... Oh and at one point I also coughed quite badly coz I choked on my saliva...... Then she thought that I was really sick and she asked me if I wanted 2 panadols LOL but I said no lah hahaha

Then while I was mopping, she suddenly asked me to ask HK仔 to come and visit her. Then I asked her if she miss him is it hahaha then she said no. She say is coz like since HK仔 group got more people then he can come and help me. LOL ACTUALLY I KNOW IS COZ SHE WANTS TO SEE HIM LOR HAHA. So I told Joelle her request and in the end he came instead of Yensin's group haha

By the time he reached Mdm H's house, I was already drying the floor with the dry mop until the kitchen there already.... hahaha so basically I kinda helped Mdm H. do all the chores all by myself #achievementunlocked haha 

Then Mdm H. was asking him to go down and buy chicken rice for the 3 of us and then he didn't want to coz I think he not hungry (Kh you can correct me if I'm wrong) and also coz like he thinks that it's too oily and unhealthy for her, which I totally agree!!

But damn obvious like Mdm H. really wants it (And I think she really loves the chicken rice from that stall!) then I think they like both angry (like fake fake one lah) or something?? LOL then I like awkward... Haha but in the end I offered to go down and buy and let them have some 二人世界 time too hahaha 
Oh and the chicken rice is Mdm H. treat us one :') When I came back I wanted to give her back her money then she was like damn serious and said to me like "If you don't take the money then next time I don't let you come ah!" 
So in the end I just accepted her treat hehe THANKS MDM H. !!!!

So in the end we waited for HK仔 to finish scrubbing the sink before we ate together! Mdm Ho kept her chicken rice for her dinner so she ate her macaroni while we ate our chicken rice. Then I was like damn curious like how she heat up her food coz her house don't have microwave mah so she shared like how she'll usually heat up her food, which I thought was quite cool! Next time when you all visit her you all can ask her! It was a very heartwarming feeling eating with the elderly, a feeling that can't be explained. Anyway, it's also not the first time that I've eaten with Mdm H. The other time when Wf, Js and I brought her down for her haircut, we also ate chicken rice with her haha.

The other time when we had chix rice together! 04/10/14

Anyway, while we were eating, 2 other groups came to visit Mdm Ho also coz their visit ended earlier haha so I think Mdm Ho looked quite happy coz there were so many people in her house! If I were her I would feel like damn proud coz there was like 7 people at her house at that point!! And could you imagine... it was like initially only got 1 person then at the end there were 7 people!! Haha so they chatted with her. This is damn random but I feel that somehow Wf and her convo always somehow damn funny one hahaha! Then in the end we had to leave already coz it was past 12.30 alr... 快乐的时光总过得那么快。。。

I remember the last time I visited her, she gave me a kiss and hugged me but I didn't kiss her back coz I didn't know like I could kiss her one then someone asked me why I didn't kiss her back hahaha. So today I went to hug her and initiate to kiss her and she also gave me a super hard kiss back :') 

Just a random thought here. This has nothing to do with the visit today but it's something about our reflection time. Somewhere nearing the end of last sem, I started to have this thought that like our reflection time after our visits was like abit of a waste of time. I mean like coz you know when you start to get busy with school work and other stuff too then you will start to value time more right? But then for the past few weeks, I started to see the meaningfulness(?) of our reflection time. It's like every week we only get to visit one or two elderly, and it's during the reflection time that we get to know more about the other elderly that we don't get to visit. It's like during today's reflection time that I got to know about the story of Mr O. through Joel's sharing and I also got to know a little more about Mdm W's story through Siyao and her friend. 

I really see myself growing and changing (mainly in terms of thinking) ever since I joined THES. I love every week's visit at Geylang Bahru and I think that there's no other place that I'd want to be in, every Saturday morning, other than there :) 

Anyway, sorry for the really informal setting of this post but Wf said that it can be quite informal kind so ok~ Haha I'm not sure if my post had bore you but it's just a very true reflection of what happened at Mdm H's house today. Yup, every Saturday morning at the elderly house may not be very fanciful or interesting but it's simple mornings like these that makes the elderly's (and also the volunteer's) day!! :)

Charmaineee~

(Oh in the end, 1 of the volunteer replied my text after the visit! She overslept hahaha)

Crazy Day :)

Hi Everyone!!! Geraldine here! Don’t be too shock if you don’t know who I am or how I look like because I am not from NUS. No worries, I did not hack into the account.  To prove my innocence I shall start by telling you guys how it all started….

So here goes… One fine day, Lynn told me that she would be organising some events for the elderlies and I thought that it would be interesting, so I asked her if the event still requires people and she said that I could join the event and see if I liked it or not. Unfortunately due to my crazy schedule I totally forgot about the event and I missed it. After a few days I met up with Lynn and remembered that I wanted to join the event but sadly it was over. Lynn told me that if I wanted to help I could always join the weekly visits and I did! So today is my fourth visit! Vernon, Yvonne (My friend) and I visited Mdm L.K.K.  Frankly speaking I was overjoyed when I know that I am visiting her because she was the first elderly that I encounter.  J 

So as usual, we change the bed sheets, sweep and mop the floor. Oh! We had a special request and that is to wash the rubbish chute. It doesn’t smell but it has brown stubborn stains (where did it come from???). We tried out different solutions and I discovered that the stain removal solution isn’t very efficient in removing stains. Vernon who instantly become Cinderella tries his very best to scrub the rubbish chute sparkling clean (Is that even possible??) He was pretty determined to transform the rubbish chute into a mirror (strange huh.. ). Eventually he gives up on the idea. After the whole cleaning up process we went to Ntuc and OMG we bought so much stuff. We bought a basket full of New year goodies and food and spent $100+ in all. After our shopping spree we went to eat 叉烧饭, the soup was pretty delicious but I felt really bad for allowing her to treat us. She seem to know the boss well, apparently the boss gives her discount for the叉烧饭. (Maybe I should buy from the stall). She seem to enjoy her 西洋菜汤 a lot and she gave some to us :P.

While we were eating, Yvonne asked Vernon why he is perspiring even though it wasn’t warm in the hawker centre. Vernon claims that he sweats a lot; scientifically speaking he is sweating a lot because he is pretty dark (Black attracts heat ma!). Apparently, Mdm L.K.K seems to agree with me. After eating, we went to this jewellery shop to buy gold necklace. The reason why she bought gold necklace was because she gave away her other gold necklaces to help people (Don’t know if it is a good thing or bad thing). She keeps on saying that if she can help people she will help but if she does not have the money she also cannot help (So kind..).  After all the shopping we went back to her house. We started chatting and she showed me the photo of her and the three suitors (the middle one handsome sia). She was really pretty when she was young. Oh no! I forgot to ask her how she managed to put the three of them in the same photo. Other than that we were talking about how she fell down and couldn’t get any help, so we manage to find the ‘call’ button and told her how she could get help using the button. She offered us chrysanthemum tea and I happily drank it. So yeah, that was all. Oh ya, my friend Yvonne enjoyed the visit and she said she will continue with the visits. (Clap clap, we have more volunteers!) So thanks for reading my lengthy blogpost. I hoped you guys managed to read my thank you because that shows that you have been reading the entire thing. HAHAH. J

P.s.  People that visit Mdm L.K.K next week please stop her from going to Ntuc. She bought too many stuff today and she is running out of money for the month le. Remember to check if she still needs to take her medication next week. People that are visiting her on 24 feb please make sure she throw her eye drop away. She is not supposed to keep it for more than 1 month. J J

~ Geraldine Tan :)  

Facing Uncertainties in Life

For today’s visit, my team that comprised of me (J K CHEW, just for those who wonder how my old Army name tag looks like), my Mechanical Engineering friend, C J NG and his Secondary School friend, C J TEO from Pharmacy, visited “Mr O”.

This is my 2^nd time visiting him and it seems like I actually had more to reflect upon during this visit than the previous time.

We spent majority of our time with him, explaining the functions of his phone, helping him read some letters and write notices on his calendar regarding his medical check-ups. Other than the above, we spent a little time listening to him share about his past; a turning point of his life.

It was one day approximately 2 years ago, Mr O was on his driving shift as a TAXI driver. Suddenly he felt dizzy and thus decided to visit the doctor and seek medical treatment. Little did he expect, the doctor diagnosed that he had something like a tumour or a blood clot (Mr O did not know exactly what happened) at the back of his right brain and would require a surgery to be performed to alleviate the problem.

After that surgery, his life changed and everything is no longer the same anymore. The right side of his face got immobilised, he can no longer close his right eye, the vision from his right eye turned blurred and he lost his sense of hearing at the right ear. He was hospitalised for 1 year, and throughout those days, he was unable to consume solid food and had to be fed with liquid food (usually milk) through a tube that runs from his nose to someone at the lower left side of his abdomen. That caused his body to be weakened due to the rapid loss of weight, with a record low of 45Kg. He could not sleep normally and was in pain for majority of the time, during that 1 year he spent in the hospital.

Currently, he is no longer tube fed and is able to consume solid food. He gained back some weight and is slowly restoring his health. Occasionally, he is still able to hang out with his friends and is leading quite a normal life now.

However due to his condition, he is unable to drive anymore and had since retired as a TAXI driver. He currently lives on government welfare and will still need to report back to the hospital for recurrent check-ups.

From Mr O's sharing, I realised that life can be filled with uncertainties. Just any unforeseen occurrences may alter the path of our lives completely. However it is also up to us to learn how to face the changes and develop the tenacity to overcome adversities.

I would not know if Mr O has gotten used to his predicaments, however what I believe is that he must certainly require a lot of courage and determination to brave through that 1 year he spent on tubes in the hospital.

- Joel Chew