\n<\/p>\n
Yet beneath the frustration, there is love, complicated but undeniable. \u201cWho better to look after her than me? She only has us,\u201d Nonis says, fighting back tears. \u201cClearly, I love her. \u2026 But it\u2019s very hard to admit.\u201d<\/p>\n
As household sizes shrink and only children become more common in Singapore, more adults may find themselves in a similar position to hers, carrying the full weight of caregiving, perhaps shaped by relationships that are far from simple.<\/p>\n
She is one of four individuals whom the On The Red Dot series, Left To Care, follows as they care for ailing loved ones on their own \u2014 even as they confront their own fears, health struggles and personal sacrifices.<\/p>\n
What keeps them going?<\/p>\n
Nonis\u2019 father has been in and out of hospital since 2022 \u2014 after a fall, a heart attack and recurring gastritis.<\/p>\n
Her mother\u2019s schizophrenia, though stabilised since her discharge from the Institute of Mental Health in 1998, requires monitoring and carries the risk of relapse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as taking a break from caregiving. I\u2019m literally on duty 24\/7,\u201d Nonis says. Even at work, she checks her home\u2019s closed-circuit television, watching for signs that something might be wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a caregiver, you never know when a crisis will strike.\u201d<\/p>\n