Dr Pothanantha asking a caregiver how she is coping.
AFTER his mother suffered from multiple strokes, 27-year-old Lee Pak Han was thankful for the help provided by the excellent domiciliary palliative care centre (EDPCC) team, led by Dr P. Pothanantha Raja, who visited their Menglembu home.
“Before this, my bedridden mother would lay on the canvas bed that my dad had. It was very difficult for us to clean her and assist her with light movements as requested by the doctor.
“Thanks to the EDPCC team, we received a proper bed with bubble mattress, donated by the Tzu Zhi Foundation. We don’t have to move her much anymore.
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“Dr Pothanantha is always willing to answer all our questions about my mother. Although she looks weaker these days, I feel at ease knowing that we have provided everything we can for her,” he added.
Pak Han, who decided to be home full-time to take care of his mother, relies fully on his father’s RM2,000 monthly income.
“My father has a prayer paraphernalia shop where he used to get many customers.
Pak Han is thankful for the EDPCC team’s help in making it easier to take care of his mother.
“But since my mother fell ill five years ago, we could only open the shop three days a week.
“Now that we have the new bed, maybe he can open the shop more often.
“We spend nearly RM1,700 a month on milk, diapers and silicone feeding tube for my mother,” said Pak Han.
Housewife Lee Lai Chan, 46, said the EDPCC team visits had lessened her burden of taking care of her 13-year-old niece Chong Shi Min, who has Down Syndrome and kidney problems.
“Without the home visit by EDPCC, we have to take her all the way to the Ipoh hospital (Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun) from our house in Chemor.
“My niece is very sensitive. Given her condition, I worry something might happen on our way to the hospital.
“We are glad to have the EDPCC team come over, and my niece certainly prefers to be at home rather than in a hospital.
“There was one time we had no choice but to admit her to the ward for blood transfusion.
Jia Xin says the EDPCC service is good as she can ask any medical questions on the spot.
“I remember her shouting and wanting to leave. But here at home, with the help of EDPCC, she is calm,” she added.
According to Lai Chan, she is Shi Min’s main caregiver while the girl’s mother is the sole breadwinner of the family.
“I used to have a knee problem, but the EDPCC team helped me and now, I go for physiotherapy,” she said, adding that EDPCC teams should be set up in other states too to help people there.
Thirty-five-year-old Leong Jia Xin said having the EDPCC team at her house made it easier for her to ask questions about her father Kum Wah, 65.
“We used to seek treatment at a private hospital before he was referred to Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun.
“He was then diagnosed with motor neuron disease, which damages his nervous system leading to muscle weakness.
“He was our breadwinner, so when he was diagnosed with the disease, my father was very upset as he was worried for the family,” she said.
Jia Xin said the EDPCC team helped his father and even checked on the family’s well-being.
“We are very thankful for their services and kind words,” she added.
