When her sister spent her final days at Dover Park Hospice, Mdm Florence Chuah carried the heavy weight of being both caregiver and grieving sibling. In the midst of it all, the hospice team became her refuge, offering not only tender care for her sister, but strength for herself. The support she once leaned on became the reason she chose to be that same steady presence for others.
Caring for her sister through the final stage of illness was one of the hardest chapters of Mdm Florence’s life. Torn between her exhaustion, fear, and heartbreak as cancer treatments stopped working, she recalls, “Some days I felt lost, unsure if I was doing enough or if I could keep going.”
Yet at Dover Park Hospice, she found a space where those burdens were shared. Our team didn’t just hold her sister’s hand, they held hers too. In those quiet, difficult moments, she was given the space to breathe, to grieve, and to simply be a sister again.
After her sister’s passing, the silence that followed was crushing. Yet, the warmth she experienced at Dover Park Hospice never left her. Today, she returns as a volunteer, carrying her sister’s memory with her. Whether sitting quietly beside a patient or offering reassurance to overwhelmed family members, she gives back the same presence and understanding that once carried her.
“I’ve been on both sides,” she reflects. “Now, I want to be the person I once needed, someone who simply understands.”
