Where is my husband?...

Mdm Mei ,74, and husband Mr Ron,71 (not their real names), are residents Golden Pines, a studio apartment block in Tampines. The retired couple mostly kept to themselves and took care of each other. They have no children.

Mdm Mei’s world suddenly came crashing down upon her when her husband and sole caregiver Mr Ron suffered a massive stroke in the early evening of 10^th Dec 2010. A neighbour helped to call an ambulance when Mdm Mei sought for help. He passed away shortly after he was admitted into CGH.  

Two days later, two gentlemen brought Mdm Mei to our office and introduced themselves as Mr Ron’s sons. Apparently, Mr Ron had left their mother to be with Mdm Mei. Now that Mr Ron is deceased, they are unwilling to take the responsibility to care for Mdm Mei.

During our discussion, she kept asking ‘Where is my husband?’. We had suspected Mdm Mei may have some cognitive impairment, so we took the opportunity to do a simple test screening. The test results showed that she may be at a high risk of dementia. We immediately referred them to CGH’s Community Psychogeriatric Programme (CPGP) Department for further testing. The tests confirmed that she has dementia.

As Mdm Mei was unable to care for herself, a meeting with the stepsons, CPGP team and Evergreen staff was arranged to discuss her care arrangements. Due to the complex family history, the stepsons were unable to bring her back to stay with them. Eventually, it was decided that Mdm Mei will be warded in CGH until a suitable nursing home can be found for her.

Thanks to the timely intervention by the staff of Evergreen, Mdm Mei was ‘rescued’ from being abandoned and living alone.

梅女士, 七十四岁，和她先生一起住在淡滨尼的一座乐龄组屋里。两老没有孩子。在十二月十日，梅女士的丈夫突然中风而在送院后去世了。在丈夫过世后，她还不断的问，“我的丈夫呢？”之后，我们也发现梅女士患有失智症。 因为她无法照顾自己的起居饮食，我们决定，通过医院的帮忙，安排他到安老院度过晚年。