BSL Home-Help Kaki, Amane, shares his experience with Mdm Tan, a new client of Blossom Seeds

"Mdm Tan* is 82 years old. Today I'm supposed to bring her to her 9am medical appointment at Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital. We called to remind her of her medical appointments.  But when I reached her home, there was no one at home. I found out that she was at Chong Pang Market with her caregiver.  Mdm Tan refuses to go for her medical appointment and there is nothing the caregiver can do. 

Her caregiver was troubled and confided that Mdm Tan hardly sleeps throughout the night because she needs to use the toilet every hour, and so her caregiver is not able to sleep as well.  During the day, Mdm Tan hardly sleeps as well, so neither of them gets any sleep.  Mdm Tan's irregular sleeping patterns made her easily irritated and she often lose her temper on her caregiver.  It is a temporary respite for the caregiver that someone is helping to bring Mdm Tan for her medical appointments. 

I started to think about what else can I do to help them? Besides medical escort services, our befriending service can help Mdm Tan and her caregiver. Our befrienders can extend our companionship to interact with Mdm Tan and uplift her mood, while her caregiver can have a rest while our befrienders keeps Mdm Tan company." 

* Name of elderly has been changed for P&C purposes