"Alvin, the doctor said that I may die soon"
After Losing her husband to cancer, she came to Singapore to find a spouse, work and provide the means for for her son to study english and hopefully, get a good job opportunity here for himself. She's in her 40s and married to an older Singaporean male. Within a few short years, hubby got a stroke and not only he’s jobless, he’s in need of medical care. She became the default caregiver for her husband and also his ailing mother suffering from old age diseases.
That means taking on jobs as a full time cleaner, a part time dish washer for a food stall and cleaning jobs scattered whenever available. Just 2 years into this, you can see its toll on her. Hair white from the stress and malnutrition, tired eyes and body from the amount of work and burden she carries.
In Sg, her total household income qualifies for gov subsidies and mind you, it’s quite stringent. As of end 2019, its “Care recipient and his/her household has per capita household monthly income of $1,800 or less or Annual Value (AV) of residence reflected on NRIC of $13,000 and below for households with no income.” - MOH website.
But why need work so hard when there’s subsidies?!?! many might ask… “A lot of things still need to pay and pay, and only I working(sic).” came the weary answer without a hint of complaint. She’s way past that and is striving courageously to provide for her family here. As a life planner for many years, I have witness this predicament and its impact without the right policies; the house is still under mortgage, the home utilities, frequent visits to hospitals/physio means higher transportation cost, healthier food, alternative treatments etc…. the subsidies are really subsidies for medical bills and do not cover living expenses. She wished that her husband met me earlier before he lapsed his policies…
She's only in her mid 40s when she called to tell me about her diagnosis in Nov 2020. "Alvin, the doctor said that I may die soon. My nose no good, doctor say no good" My heart sank....there's so much despair, hopelessness and pain in her voice. I was lost, in thots… between OMGOMGOMG, a quick prayer for her and cursing at the year 2020, I managed "where are you? I am coming to see u"
At TTSH, the oncologist gave an encouraging prognosis for her nose cancer (aka Nasopharyngeal cancer). Her family was positive and helpful, her workplace colleague, they were amazingly supportive, sending her photo cards with heart melting notes of encouragement. Her boss assured that she will get the max benefits the company can offer, staggered Hospitalisation Leaves and MCs. Swiftly she came to terms and accepted the facts. I was with her for most of the Oncologist visits and at the same time help her to settle some claims with cash outlay. *yes, even with her full shield policies with rider, cash payments are still required amounting to thousands of dollar.
Dear class, benefits from 3 polices were triggered for her condition, with 2 other pending as of this blog . Patients/clients going thru this phase need a lot of positive support and encouragement from families and friends. God bless her and all reading this, please say a prayer for her speedy recovery!
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