April 9, 2017
Giving up a career to care for elderly parents
When her mother fell seriously ill in 2010, Ms Janet Koh Hui Kheng faced one of the hardest decisions of her life.
Janet Koh was a corporate professional in her 40s when her mother fell seriously ill. The hospital discharged her mother home with a long list of care needs — and Janet quickly realised that no nursing home, no maid, no part-time arrangement was going to give her mother the care she deserved.
She gave up her career.
Janet's story is one of thousands across Singapore. Family caregivers — often the oldest daughter, sometimes a son — make this calculation every day. The financial cost is real. The emotional cost is harder to measure.
Lifeline's retail business exists in part for these caregivers. The right wheelchair, hospital bed, transfer aid, or pressure-care mattress can be the difference between coping and burning out. We work with the Singapore Government's Agency for Integrated Care to make those tools more affordable through the Senior Mobility Fund and other enabling schemes.