Stories to Inspire
Eng Hwee Meng
SPD@Tampines' adult rehabilitation centre has been in operation since June 2007. By November 2008, the centre had served over 100 individuals and provided close to 2,500 sessions of therapy. The Centre has been providing the residents in the eastern region of Singapore with rehabilitation after their discharge from the hospital. This, as well as client and caregiver education sessions, has helped our clients cope with conditions and better manage their transition from hospital to the community.
The centre had seen its fair share of success cases where clients become well enough to 'graduate' from the programme, some returning to the workforce to continue contributing in society.
Mr Eng Hwee Meng is a 53-year-old entrepreneur who set up his first company in 1985. His current company, his second, deals with computer software. He suffered a stroke on 21 August 2008 and was referred to SPD@Tampines by the Singapore General Hospital for physiotherapy and occupational therapy in September. It is hard to imagine then that the eloquent Mr Eng could not do much on his own when he first arrived at SPD@Tampines. He gave his account on how therapy at SPD@Tampines accelerated his route to recovery. This was featured in the January 2009 issue of ExtraPage.
“When I first came to SPD@Tampines, I could not speak or read; my sense of logic was affected and I was not cohesive in my thoughts. The right side of my body was affected by the stroke and I could not move my hand at all or get up from bed in an organised manner.
My occupational therapist Ritesh did the initial assessment and drew up a plan for me. It wasn't any run-of-the-mill plan as it had realistic targets which were designed to suit me. He worked on my motor skills whilst physiotherapist Mark Anthony worked on building up my strength. Both Ritesh and Mark knew me by my first name and I always felt this relationship was crucial in contributing to my recovery. There was always communication between them, my wife Alice (who has been excellent as my main caregiver) and me. We sat down a lot to discuss the best ways to go about my therapy. It has been a lot of hard work as, for example, 15 minutes of simple exercises to raise my arm was painful and tiring but they knew what would keep me motivated and pushed me to strive for all the goals set.
Three months on, the improvements I've made are tremendous. To think I had problems even getting out of bed then but now I have ditched my wheelchair for short distances and I am able to climb up four flights of steps with assistance!
Overall, what impressed me about SPD@Tampines was that the facilities are adequate and the therapists are dedicated, focused and professional.”