Phoebe, a volunteer for end-of-life patients | Ordinary People - video Dailymotion

AsiaOne

Phoebe, a volunteer at Assisi Hospice, tells us how she started volunteering. See how she has been making a difference for patients in need, and the joys and new perspectives which volunteering brings her.  Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

Transcript

00:00 It feels like one big family

00:02 because every time I step into the daycare

00:04 it's a very lively atmosphere.

00:05 Then you see the patients and the staff, the nurses

00:09 the therapists all laughing, joking with each other.

00:13 So I'm Pee Bee, I'm 20 years old this year

00:19 and I've been volunteering at RCC Hospice

00:22 specifically at its daycare since the end of 2020.

00:25 RCC is for terminally ill patients

00:27 so there are a few aspects to it, there's the daycare

00:30 there's the inpatient care as well as the home care.

00:32 So the one that I'm based in is mostly the daycare

00:35 which is for patients who have a prognosis of about a year.

00:39 So over there, I help out mainly with the van escort

00:42 which is bringing the patients from their homes to the hospice

00:45 or from the hospice back home.

00:47 Good morning, this is RCC. We're almost there.

00:49 Give us 10 minutes.

00:52 OK, thank you, bye bye.

00:54 [Music]

01:00 Good morning.

01:00 Hello.

01:02 [Music]

01:10 Good morning.

01:12 Do you want to come in?

01:14 [Music]

01:18 Wow, Uncle is so handsome today.

01:21 [Laughs]

01:22 Hello.

01:24 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:26 [Laughs]

01:28 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:30 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:32 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:34 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:36 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:38 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:40 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:42 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:44 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:46 [Speaking Mandarin]

01:48 I just ensure the safety on the van

01:50 by simple things like putting on the seatbelts for them, taking their temperature to make sure they are well before coming to the centre,

01:56 and just helping them with their medical devices like oxygen.

01:59 oxygen.

02:00 Yeah, I'm ensuring it's smooth right for the patients.

02:26 It is quite challenging now because now I've started uni and uni's timetable is quite packed sometimes and it's very unpredictable.

02:35 At the start when I was in secondary school I had more time so I came down about once a week at least, I tried to.

02:42 But then I realised that instead of finding time to come down to volunteer, I have to make time for it.

02:47 So I'm more intentional with setting aside a certain amount of time per month,

02:52 maybe a few times, maybe two times a month to come down to the hospice to volunteer.

02:57 And I think that's helped me build a more regular schedule.

03:00 My interest in palliative care actually started when my gong gong was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2017.

03:12 So there was discussion on maybe the possibility of hospice care, which piqued my curiosity in palliative care in Singapore.

03:19 So this led me to volunteer with and eventually I took over this student initiated volunteer project in my school at that time.

03:28 We did ad hoc activities at a daycare.

03:30 At the end of 2020 I decided that I wanted to be more proactive in terms of volunteering.

03:36 So I found out about RCC Hospice, the daycare centre and I decided to volunteer there.

03:41 [Music]

04:01 I think because volunteering at this type of high person to person interaction type of setting,

04:06 it's very hard for one person to make an impact on a huge group of people.

04:11 Because it's not like I am starting a charity where I get the money and donate to a large group of people,

04:17 and I'm limited with my time and my capacity.

04:20 But I do realise that even the smallest of impacts that I make on just that one patient is enough.

04:35 And I can tell that I do have some sort of impact on the patients given the type of interactions that we have,

04:42 the gratitude that they show me, which I'm also very grateful for.

04:45 I'm very privileged to receive and I think that's more than enough to justify the time and the effort that I make in coming down.

04:54 Hi Aunty Sylvia.

04:56 Hi Phoebe.

04:57 They are filming.

04:58 I know.

04:59 This is a bit scary.

05:00 No, no, not scary.

05:03 Not scary.

05:04 Okay, how's your food?

05:06 You took out all the mushrooms.

05:08 Interacting with the patients actually brings me so much joy and I live with my heart so much fuller.

05:15 It puts my problems into perspective as well.

05:18 Yeah, just talking to the patients really rejuvenates me.

05:21 So I don't think of it as a chore.

05:24 Rather a privilege, I'm just lucky to be able to do this.

05:31 So how I met Mrs Pereira is, one day I came to the daycare hospice.

05:37 I saw that she had crafts open for jewellery making and I'm quite interested in crafts of this sort.

05:43 So I went to have a conversation with her.

05:45 She's a very cool lady.

05:46 She's actually taught me to do paper quilling.

05:49 At the point of time where I met Mrs Pereira, I also got to know her husband, Mr Pereira.

05:54 So it was really sweet.

05:55 Both of them were in the hospice daycare together and you can see the interaction.

05:59 You can see the love and respect they have for each other.

06:03 So I think I got to know both of them better.

06:06 Mr Pereira is a very cheerful guy.

06:08 He charmed us all with his singing.

06:10 It was really a joy to be around them.

06:13 And at the point of time, I think I came almost every week.

06:16 So I managed to form that bond over time as well.

06:19 Unfortunately, Mr Pereira, his health worsened.

06:23 It was quite a difficult period for Mrs Pereira.

06:25 So knowing that, I did try my best to be there to support her.

06:29 So I did make a few visits to the hospital to visit Mr Pereira.

06:33 And then I just kept in contact, making sure that she was okay.

06:38 And I think that meant a lot to her, which also made me realise that

06:43 something that we might perceive as being small or might not make much of an impact

06:49 actually makes so much of a difference to the patient.

06:53 I think I am in a very privileged position to be able to volunteer with a hospice.

06:59 And I've met really a lot of amazing patients who have taught me so much about life,

07:05 about life and death, and about loving.

07:09 I also learnt a lot about myself.

07:11 So I volunteered at this hospice for quite a while.

07:16 And I think, as part of a hospice, death is something that's inevitable.

07:19 And I've seen my fair share of patients that have passed on.

07:25 But it never really gets easier.

07:27 It still hits me hard when I hear that a patient has left.

07:29 No matter how short or long I've known a patient,

07:32 because this is a hospice after all, the patients have come in with certain illnesses.

07:37 There are difficult times that they have to go through.

07:40 And I'm very lucky to be able to be there for them as a listening ear.

07:45 No matter how small the impact I'm making,

07:49 it really makes coming down, taking time and effort to volunteer so much more worth it.

07:56 [Music]

Phoebe, a volunteer for end-of-life patients | Ordinary People

Category

Transcript

Recommended