Befriending: Merry Christmas
Updated: Jul 5, 2020
Enjoying a merry carolling & karaoke session
With Christmas was round the corner, we sang carols and added on some of the Mandarin classics, which she loved! Although she was visibly exhausted, we could also see that she was thoroughly enjoying it. She clapped along and often smiled when we played her favourite tunes. That really made our day as we felt that she was starting to open up to us. In return, we were also hoping to make her day, and to be a source of encouragement for her even as she went through her taxing weekly physiotherapy sessions.
It may have taken a while to break the ice with her but in that time, we understood that to truly connect with her, we needed to be sincere in our desire in wanting to build a relationship. Due to her pre-existing condition, she had some difficulty with complex questions and struggled with giving us long & thought-out replies. However, we adapted to her pace, patiently enunciating each word and asking simple questions. Through the snippets of conversation, we pieced together her story, and slowly grew to truly enjoy keeping her company and to better appreciate who she was.
Her daughter also accompanied us and often helped us to communicate better, sometimes translating what we wanted to say in Cantonese, with a comfortable pace and gentle tone. Her daughter reminded us of how important the role of caregivers & family members was in supporting her. Without her daughter, the palliative care plan wouldn’t have been very caring at all.