Geok Soon’s illness forced him to leave his job, but he looked his chirpy self as his colleagues wished him well.
Mr Wang Giok Hup, younger brother of the late Mr Wang Geok Soon, "My older brother, Geok Soon, had fierce-looking features and a ruddy face. This earned him the nickname 'jit pun' ('Japanese kid' in Hokkien) within the family. He travelled a lot, and seldom contacted me. But last year, I received a call from Geok Soon. He had been admitted to the hospital for final-stage liver cancer. It was ironic that I only got to know my brother better at the last stage of his life. There were so many things I never knew about him, like how cheerful, likable and responsible he was.
Geok Soon's illness forced him to leave his job, but he looked his chirpy self as his colleagues wished him well. He even told them he was off to stay in a nice hotel, when he was actually being admitted to the hospice. In his final hours, he asked me how soon he had to wait for the end to come. When I said it was just a matter of time, he smiled and said 'swee!' ('wonderful' in Hokkien). From him, I learned how one can be brave in the face of pain and death. I stayed up all night at Geok Soon's wake, and felt so tired. But what is that, compared to what he went through?"
Wang Geok Soon (1955 - 2015)
Former patient at Bright Vision Hospital
Mr Wang is one of the winners of the Singapore Health Inspirational Patient and Caregiver Award 2016.
Tags: IPCA2016
