SINGAPORE – A man in his 60s was playing cards, chatting with volunteers and petting a therapy dog at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), where he stayed.
Less than three hours later, he could no longer hold water in his mouth when a nurse tried to help him drink.
The man had no next of kin. But volunteer Yong Kwon Seng sat by his bed, holding his hand and playing soft music until the beeping of the heart monitor stopped and his grip loosened.
Yong had kept his promise to him: “I will journey with you till the end.”
The 40-year-old educator has been volunteering at IMH for 16 years. He has missed only two sessions – in 2022, when he was too bereft to turn up after his mother died of a stroke.
Yong is a finalist for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award, which is given to a Singaporean or group of citizens who have made a significant contribution to society.
This can be through achievements that put Singapore on the world stage, or by going beyond the call of duty to selflessly improve the lives of others in the community, among other ways.
The award is organised by The Straits Times and presented by UBS Singapore.
At IMH, Yong noticed that some patients never had family visiting during the public holidays. He began showing up almost every Saturday and public holiday to befriend long-stay patients.
But he also began wondering who would accompany these patients when they were dying.
This led Yong to start the No One Dies Alone programme at IMH in 2019. Its eight volunteers befriend critically ill patients who have no family, accompanying them in the final stretch of their lives. These patients are mostly seniors.
The team has so far kept 19 patients company till their deaths. “I cannot take away their pain or bring them home. But what we promise the first time I meet them, I make sure I do it. And I hope at the end, they feel a sense of comfort or at least that there is someone beside them,” he said.
Yong asked to be listed as the patients’ emergency contact so the hospital can reach him when anything happens.
He keeps his phone’s ringer on 24/7 and the phone beside his bed when he sleeps.
“I tell them, call me any time of the day,” he said. “I am quite scared that if I miss a phone call and it is from the hospital, then I cannot go to him or her.”
In one elderly woman’s final hours, he sat by her bedside from midnight to 6am, before leaving for work and letting another volunteer take over. The woman died shortly after.
“Whether it is speaking to them, holding their hands or playing their favourite songs, Kwon Seng offers a reassuring presence, even when they may no longer be able to respond,” said Kelvin Yeo, senior manager of the Woodbridge Hospital Charity Fund, the philanthropic arm of IMH.
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