Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund helps caregiver
Mr Tang Kim Khim and his wife Mrs Tang Estelle Henrietta. Photo: Robin Choo
To take care of his wife, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, sales executive Tang Kim Khim opted for early retirement at 55. Mrs Tang Estelle Henrietta was diagnosed with the disease when she was 45.
“(The disease) slowly affected her memory ... then, she became less mobile,” said Mr Tang, now 82.
During the day, he would take care of his wife, and at night, taught ballroom dancing at several private and community centres. His earnings of about S$500 each month barely covered his wife’s medication, which amounted to more than S$200.
In the early days, he had tried to apply for financial aid, but was deemed ineligible, he said. For the next 27 years, Mr Tang relied on his savings and financial help from his two children.
Aid finally came his way last September, when he was told that he could apply for subsidies under the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund, which is administered by the Agency for Integrated Care.
Mr Tang and his wife were given a 90 per cent subsidy, amounting to more than S$1,000, for assistive devices such as an auto three-crack hospital bed and a detachable lightweight pushchair. The bed made it easier for him to move his 83-year-old wife, so she would not get bed sores, said Mr Tang, who lives in Teban Gardens. YVONNE LIM
*For more information on the SMF, call the Singapore Silver Line at 1800-650-6060.
