Voices from the Front Lines: How I helped an 82-year-old Covid-19 patient walk out of hospital

As the fight against Covid-19 will be a long-drawn one, TODAY’s Voices section hopes to shine a light on the triumphs and struggles of Singapore’s front-line workers by publishing their first-hand accounts.

In this instalment of Voices from the Front Lines, Gleneagles Hospital physiotherapist Kang Ching Yee writes about an emotional conversation with an 82-year-old Covid-19 patient who initially resisted therapy, and how she helped him on the road to recovery.   

I was assigned to Gleneagles Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) about six months ago.

Seeing patients suspended between life and death every day since then has strengthened my calling as a healthcare worker.

I first saw Mr T, 82, in the ICU’s negative-pressure room when he was admitted in late March for Covid-19.

He was sedated and connected to a ventilator. He was very weak and fragile, and his limbs and joints were stiff and swollen.

While the doctors and nurses worked on his viral infection and other medical conditions, I was given the task, as his physiotherapist, to mobilise him as soon as possible to improve joint range and regain muscle strength.

I started attending to Mr T, my only Covid-19 patient, twice a day.

It was tough at the start. He was reluctant and would participate minimally during these sessions because of fatigue, breathlessness and discomfort in his joints.

“Exercise tomorrow,” he would say, frowning, sighing and shaking his head.

Being in pain and hooked up to wires and lines in the ICU was certainly not the best feeling in the world.

I empathised with his resistance to physiotherapy sessions, but knew that he also had the potential to walk home.

So, despite his pushing away the therapy sessions, I persevered.

One day, I had the opportunity to speak to him alone. It was a personal and emotional conversation.

“Uncle, I am trying so hard to help you, but you keep pushing me away,” I told him. “I am very sad.”

Behind my goggles, I was close to tears. I really wanted him to improve and desperately needed his cooperation.

Sensing my fear of contracting the coronavirus from him, he replied, referring to my personal protective equipment: “You wear until like this, you won’t get infected. What do you want me to do now?”

Since that incident, and to my surprise, Mr T started participating more during rehabilitation. He made the effort to move his limbs more and soon began managing more complex tasks, such as holding a cup, combing his hair and turning on the bed.

After almost two months in hospital, Mr T’s Covid-19 test results came back negative.

By then, he had regained enough strength and mobility to walk on his own with a walking frame. We were overjoyed on the day he was discharged from the hospital.

Everyone in the team played an important role in nursing Mr T back to health, but I was especially proud of my little victory, knowing that he had walked out of the hospital because I did not give up.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Kang Ching Yee, 27, is a physiotherapist at Gleneagles Hospital. She has a passion for cancer rehabilitation and geriatrics.

If you are on the front lines of the Covid-19 outbreak or know someone who wishes to contribute to the series, write to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.