A Neglected Senior She sits and sleeps in a small corner behind the door as the entire living room is filled with red plastic bags of trash and daily supplies of bottled drinking water, Dettol and vinegar. She wraps her head and feet with red plastic bags to keep warm. Her valuables are stowed in plastic bags and kept beneath the only blouse she is wearing. When she needs to go to the washroom, she would climb over the pile of bags. To get out of the house, she painstakingly squeezes herself through the ajar door to transfer herself to the wheelchair which is tied to the gate. This is how Mdm C lives her life… and often in the dark with just the louvered window opened to chat with visitors. Mdm C was referred to FaithActs in February 2018. As expected, she was suspicious and reluctant to interact with strangers. With our persistent visits, she eventually warmed up to us. A lonely senior, she felt that no one genuinely cared for her. Mdm C began to share her stories and related well with us, affectionately calling us celestial names like Sun, Star, Cloud. However, her heaps of rubbish remained untouchable! While many would have labelled her a hoarder, Mdm C is quite different because she does ‘housekeep’ once in a blue moon… based on her mood. Nevertheless, she was prepared for us to remove the trash but only at her appointed time! Mdm C is generally alert and resourceful but hallucinates occasionally. Because of some bad experience with the meal delivery service, Mdm C did not have regular meals for a few months and there were days she would starve. We would bring her biscuits and meals along with her favourite kopi-O kosong. Our volunteer doctor also visits her regularly to check on her health. The subject of moving into a nursing home was finally broached. Mdm C was initially reluctant to our suggestion of moving to a nursing home, but has finally agreed as she realised that she needs assisted daily living. While waiting for her application to be approved, we are still meeting her daily needs.
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