Caregivers give back at Assisi Hospice Fun Day
published by Catholic News on June 25, 2023
The kampong spirit was in the air at the Assisi Hospice’s Fun Day on June 11 when some 10,000 people thronged the 110 stalls set up at St Joseph’s Institution International on Thomson Road to raise funds for the hospice, which provides palliative care for both adults and children.
The event garnered tremendous support from the families of past and present patients, volunteers, community groups, and corporate sponsors, raising over half-a-million dollars as of June 20.
Monica and Mary Ng, whose father, Michael, attends the hospice’s day care service, set up a booth to sell Monica’s handmade amigurumi, a type of three-dimensional knitted object or stuffed toy.
“We are truly grateful for what Assisi Hospice has done for our father, and we would like to bless others in our own small way,” said Monica, adding that her 87-year-old father had benefitted significantly from the service which looks after patients who require care during the day while their family members are at work or school.
“My siblings and I can work in peace knowing that my dad is well looked after at the Day Care with qualified medical attention,” she said. “We also appreciate that the charges for this service are affordable at $10 per day.”
Mr Ng joined the Day Care centre in January this year after his wife passed away from breast cancer.
“It was a huge blow to him,” said Monica, “but the doctors and staff helped him, not only with the palliative care he needed, but also to take baby steps to overcome his grief for my mum through engaging him in occupational therapy, physiotherapy and art and music therapy sessions.”
Monica shared that her father finds comfort and peace in attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion daily at the Hospice’s chapel, and even encourages the other patients at the Day Care.
“He often keeps them in his prayers,” she said.
The Assisi Hospice provides compassionate, personalised, and quality palliative care (a form of medical care that relieves symptoms without dealing with the cause of the condition) to adults and children. The hospice has 85 beds for inpatient care, a Day Care Centre, a Home Care team that serves about 2,500 patients a year, and a Bereavement Support team that provides grief counselling for caregivers and family members.
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