My First Experience with T.H.E.Seniors (21 July 2012)

Hello my name is Ann (: Although I have volunteered before, this is my first time with T.H.E. Seniors and visiting the elderly in Geylang Bahru in Blocks 61 and 62. My compassion for the elderly led me to write my thesis on how they cope with growing old in their living environments in Singapore. Then I realized that in writing about them, I need to understand them as well, and the best way to do so is to volunteer, so that I can know and meet their needs both in writing and in action. (:

Last Saturday, 21 July 2012, together with Yin Min, Yi An, Shawn, Yingcong and Jaclyn, my group visited 3 elders, namely Mr Lim, Mdm Choi Moi and Mdm Tan.

1. Mr Lim

First we went to visit Mr Lim. Mr Lim was watching television on his reclining chair just in front of the television set when we arrived. His house was very neat and tidy, and the radio was turned on as well, and the mood in the house was bright and positive.

Mr Lim is a very cheerful and positive person. It is evident that he has built a close and sincere friendship with this group of volunteers, as he looked really happy to see our faces. We proceeded with cleaning up the house.

After which we sat down to have a chat with him for some time. Mr Lim constantly mentioned about one of the organizations that helped him to move his old stuff away, and gave his house a new coat of paint, and how his house looks clean and how the white walls are very nice. I can see that he was really touched by such a gesture, and according to one of the volunteers, the walls of his flat used to be black in colour, and this lighter colour actually lifted his spirits and brightened up the house. The television set was given to Mr Lim by the organization as well, and he says that he enjoys watching ‘angmoh’ news (the television was turned to Channel Newsasia)! That made me very happy. Mr Lim also talked about how he manages to save electricity because he only uses his lights or electric appliances when he needs, and mostly at night.

Recently, he went to the hospital as he could not breathe well, and although he feels much better now, he has around 7 types of medicine that he needs to eat. But the medicine looked very scary to him (and it looked scary to me as well), and since he collected it from the pharmacist, not his doctor, he doubts its authenticity. I felt really sad – although I knew that the medicine would help him, but his fear of eating so many different types of medicine especially without any understanding of them was justified and I didn’t want him to feel afraid. Thankfully, Yin Min explained that each medicine had a purpose, and it was to help certain areas of his body to recover. Although still in doubt, he looked convinced that he should start eating some of them.

Someone came to deliver food to Mr Lim, and it was heart-warming to see that his neighbours/friends in the same block care about each other and help one another.

After chatting for a while more, we had to leave for the next house. Mr Lim said that he was very thankful that we came to visit him and helped to clean his house each week, and this makes him very happy. I was so amazed that how little we actually did meant so much to him. Also, I felt that the knowledge gap between the doctor and the patient should be bridged, as it is worrying if a patient does not choose to eat the medication prescribed because of a lack of knowledge about its benefits. This visit also enlightened me about the problems and troubles that these seniors faced.

2. Mdm Choi Moi

Then, we went to visit Mdm Choi Moi. Mdm Choi Moi is a very bright and cheery lady with a smile on her face most of the time, especially if you make eye contact with her, and she likes to joke as well. As her house was rather tidy, we sat down to have a chat with her.

She took out two photo albums to show us while we chatted with her, and most of them were taken at TOUCH gatherings or pictures taken with friends. When we asked her about the places she visited, she could not remember them, but she remembered the people that she spent time with which were important to her.

Mdm Choi Moi was not wearing her hearing aid but she seemed to be able to pick out words that we were saying and could hold a conversation with us. I was shocked to know that she was 91, as she was very mobile and could walk around without the aid of a walking stick and could manage cooking (she cooked her own lunch) and even heard us very well. She said she liked to walk around in her flat and she could people watch from her window which made her very happy. She laughs a lot, which made me very happy too. She explained that she preferred not to go down and take walks as if she falls down, she would not have anyone to call for help or depend on, so she decided to people watch from her and walk around her flat, and I felt that it was a smart measure that she took to protect herself.

We also read a newspaper article that dated back to 1998 where her picture was featured, and although it says that she wanted a radio, Mdm Choi Moi never got one. She has a television now though.

3. Mdm Tan

Then, we went to visit Mdm Tan. She is a nice lady with a calm outlook, and it was evident that she had a close relationship with the volunteers as well. Her house was generally neat and tidy. We cleaned and tidied up her house and started chatting with her after.

One of the volunteers informed me that she had cataracts in her eye and so she could not see clearly. After chatting with Mdm Tan, I realized that she had an unpleasant and upsetting experience after her surgery on one of her eyes, as the condition of her eye did not improve and she felt unwell after the surgery. This caused her to lose confidence in doctors and thus she did not seek further treatment after that.

Although she could not see us very well, she recognized some of the volunteers by their voice, and when we spoke to her, she directed her attention to the source of the voice. She was still having her cough despite taking many different types of medications, and we decided to get Pi Pa Gao for her so that perhaps it might soothe her throat. We also told her about the upcoming National Day Celebration event and asked her join in the activity. 

This experience last Saturday left me feeling bittersweet – although it was meaningful that we can make a difference in their lives; sometimes what we do might not change their situation, we can only do so much, listen and feedback to the authorities, and that disheartens me. But what matters is the relationship formed and that is invaluable.

-Ann :)
(PS. Yinmin we miss you!)