Reflections of A Youth Volunteer

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people (in no particular order): Mr. Leo, Mr. Cheng, Ms. Christina, Ms. Pei Shan, Ms. Jasminee, Mr. Chong Giam, Ms. Jenny, Ms. Angie, Mr. Lam, Mr. Jimmy, Mr. Ng, Mr. Roger, Mr. Teo, and many more. It has been my pleasure learning from all of your altruism, empathy, and selfless hearts.

Positive Feedback

On the first day at Blossom Seeds, I was given a very thorough briefing by Mr. Cheng and was subsequently placed under the care of Mr. Leo in his medical escort team. I was very grateful to be paired with experienced escorts (as acknowledged above) who really laid a strong foundation for the entire operation. The opportunity to be hands-on while having an experienced escort to ensure the safety of the client was valuable. The videos from Mr. Leo on how to operate the hydraulics and wheelchair hooks were informative and pertinent to safety. This supplemented the on-the-job training provided by the experienced escorts and also the transport operators. This ensured a smooth transfer of knowledge and overall pleasant volunteering experience. I believe time management was done very well as every trip I was apart of arrived early to the clinics. There was ample consideration of traffic and robust time buffers to account for unexpected logistical delays. Handing out gloves to the Chung 2 escorts was also a really good idea, because it is useful if the client requires assistance for toileting and other hygiene matters.

Constructive Feedback

I believe it would be useful to have a resource that provides a short overview of each client’s special needs and considerations. For example, if a client with stage 3 chronic kidney disease is instructed by the physician to limit fluid intake, it could be good for the escort to have this information beforehand. This is in case the patient requests for and over-consumes water from the clinic water dispenser without any family or helper supervision. In addition, dietary restrictions information could also be good to have in case the client wants to have food or meals between same day medical appointments. Apart from that, this resource could also be used for special ambulation or movement restrictions such as patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. This is a resource that I think would be helpful, but obviously considerations of the Personal Data Protection Act and the feasibility or practicality of this resource would have to be discussed further.

Reflection of Two Months at Blossom Seeds

In this section, I have written out a short reflection and some insights of my time volunteering at Blossom Seeds.

Introduction

Over my school holidays, I had the absolute pleasure of volunteering at Blossom Seeds for two months. This is a charity that provides a range of social services to care for the elderly in Chung 3 physical, social, and emotional aspects. I was involved in the medical escort team to safely bring seniors (often wheelchair-bound) to their medical appointments and home completely free-of-charge. This ensures that financial, logistical and ambulatory barriers do not stand in the way of medical appointments, which are crucial to healthy ageing.

Impactful Moments

In the past two months, it has been eye-opening to see the struggles of everyday Singaporean seniors. These are the unassuming aunties and uncles in the neighbourhood we say “Morning,” “早安,” or “Apa khabar” to. Their vibrant personalities often shed little light on the difficulties they face in their day to day lives: from numerous medical disabilities and co-morbidities, to poor family support networks, to socio-economic or financial challenges. At Blossom Seeds, there were many moments that stood out. One was seeing an elderly woman’s agonising frustrations with poor continuity of care between polyclinics, hospitals, and specialist clinics. Another was seeing a senior living alone in an undecorated room with two beds; one was his while the other empty bed stood for the broken promise of his son to move in to care for him. Thirdly, it was listening to a woman hold back tears as she talked about her experience with unsympathetic doctors and amputation of her leg.

Heart-to-Heart Talks

From the start, it was made clear to me that these medical escorts were not simply logistical trips to and fro the clinics. These trips offered opportunities to lend a listening ear and an open heart to the elderly. As people age, friendships and social connections are difficult to Chung 4 maintain, which is especially true in this pandemic. Social health is a crucial aspect to healthy ageing, and we as volunteers played an important role. Despite the physical pains and challenges the seniors faced, many continued to radiate positivity and optimism in life. Some seniors were outgoing from the get go and were delighted to have someone to converse with, while others were slow-to-warm-up. Understandably, some built walls around themselves and were cold and distant. They were often trapped in defeatist loops and looked for answers on what they did to deserve their current misery. As volunteers, doing small things like bringing a big bright smile to the senior’s doorsteps could certainly light up their day. Regardless of the seniors’ extraverted or introverted inclinations, eventually we bonded and became friends over the course of these trips, breaking through generational and cultural gaps. Some days we enthused about English Premier League football, some days we talked about funny Korean or medico-romance dramas, and some days I just listened to stories of their triumphs and struggles in their younger days. In return, they also listened excitedly to my stories from school and offered me sassy dating advice with cheeky smirks across their faces. I ended up learning interesting facts about what school, technology and everyday life was like when they were still children. I even ended up improving my Mandarin and also my Malay thanks to one Encik!

Introspection

 In moments of introspection, I often think of how I would cope if I were in their shoes. How would I react if I had to deal with medical morbidities and socio-cultural challenges by Chung 5 myself? It would certainly overwhelm me as someone who has had the privilege of a stable (some would call pampered) upbringing. At times, it was very disheartening hearing about their various struggles: no visits from their children in years, concerns about making financial ends meet, worries about their young child as both husband and wife developed significant morbidities. As a volunteer and friend, I acknowledged and validated their feelings, which helped to lighten the burden on their shoulders ever so slightly. Even though it can be dispiriting to hear about their struggles, it also meant appreciating their strength and resilience. Their unwavering attitudes in the face of seemingly never ending adversity was truly inspiring.

A Thank You to the Seniors

 In the past two months, it has been rewarding to complete trips safely and send the seniors home gleeful from the social boost. I am certainly grateful when they express their gratitude for my effort and care. However, I am the one thanking them for granting me the opportunity to give back to the community. I feel that volunteering is something that should be a baseline expectation of everyone as members of society. As a current medical student and future leader in healthcare, volunteering at Blossom Seeds lets me draw upon these experiences and understand better what it is like on the patient side of the consultation table. It reaffirms how physicians play significant roles in healthcare experiences and that empathy is indispensable.

Big Picture

On one hand, I am reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a country with strong social services and charities that look out for the needy, like Blossom Seeds. On the other hand, I know that there are many more people who need these services. While sitting in clinic Chung 6 waiting areas during escorts, there were numerous members of the public who came up and asked what our charity did. I gave them an overview of Blossom Seeds, and it was clear from my conversations with them that there was a need and “desperation” for these services. Understandably, social services have to first focus on groups that require these services the most to promote equity amongst the community. It is also likely that demand for medical transport support in Singapore will increase as a rapidly ageing population and low fertility rates become a critical issue for my generation.

Andrew is an undergraduate at University of New South Wales in the Faculty of Medicine