“Hi, we would like to take our pre-wedding photos at the SGH Bicentennial Garden in September. Is there someone we should talk to, to facilitate this?”

The request came from physiotherapist Jeremie Ng (J) and radiographer Renee Loh (R) in March this year, when pandemic distancing measures were easing. They have been dating for over four years and are tying the knot next year in February. LighterNotes got nosy. 

J: Interestingly, we didn’t cross paths at work, we actually met on a dating app. 

R: I guess we could call it fate as it is not easy to meet someone from the same industry on dating apps. I was pretty surprised when I saw that Jeremie is an allied health professional like me! After messaging him, he told me he’s working in SGH too! 

So four years ago, we almost had our first date in Kopitiam food court in SGH but eventually decided to go somewhere else. However, we had many subsequent dates over the years at Deck on 9 and around SGH. Hence to celebrate the fourth anniversary of when we first met, we chose to do our pre-wedding photoshoot in SGH on 15 September. 

 

 

R: I was a bit paranoid about meeting someone through a dating app. So I secretly used the staff directory to search for his name to ensure he’s “legit”. I guess that’s another hidden benefit of the staff directory! 

J: On the second date, I was Renee's "guinea pig" so that she could practise her ultrasound technical skills on me. Needless to say, I am still her “guinea pig” today whenever she learns a new scan technique at work and needs a volunteer to practise on. 

J: Even though no bringing work home will be our rule, it will be hard not to talk about work since we both deal with many interesting cases and scenarios every day. 

R: Sharing about our day at work is a form of stress relief for me. Sometimes, by listening to another perspective, it helps me in my reflection process. And I get tips from Jeremie on how to handle different situations which I managed to apply to my work.  

 

J: Most people won’t do this but we felt that it best reflected where our relationship blossomed and grew. We always meet after work on Wednesdays for date nights even though we have different work schedules. 

R: It can be tough since the both of us can have different work schedules, especially on days when Jeremie finishes at 9pm. Despite that, we will still try to see each other and that means having some of our dinner dates in the eateries in SGH.

 J: I’m a physiotherapist who mainly work with post-operation orthopaedic patients, specialising in amputee care. 

 R: And I’m a diagnostic radiographer who performs X-rays and ultrasound scans, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. 

 

Currently both of us are on office hours but I had to return to shift work during the circuit breaker period, supporting General Radiography service in the Emergency Department. After my night shifts, Jeremie would always wait for me at Block 5 in the morning with a Mcdonald's breakfast. It may not seem much for some but seeing Jeremie with a warm breakfast for me after a grueling night shift recharged my batteries and helped to keep me going during that period.

 

R: I like to wind down by watching Netflix while Jeremie loves to play video games on his PlayStation. Jeremie also plays tennis and is trying to teach me how to play!

On the other hand, I play mahjong with my family and I’m trying to teach Jeremie, too.  

Both of us enjoy watching F1 and we try not to miss any race on TV! We have also bought tickets for next year’s Singapore F1 race. Our retirement goal is to follow the F1 teams around the world and attend every race live during the season! 

Thank you Jeremie and Renee for sharing your story with us so candidly. Our heartiest congratulations and wishing you a blissful marital life ahead.