Teen who cared for ailing mum wins award

When she was 14, Victoria Quek (pic) became the caregiver of her single mother, who was battling renal failure.

Then a student at Serangoon Garden Secondary School, the teenager often missed classes as she struggled to manage her mother’s medical appointments and look after her two younger sisters.

For three years, Quek juggled her responsibilities and studied on her own when her mother was attending dialysis sessions.

In November last year, her mother died at age 44.

Earlier this month, Quek, now 18 and a nursing student at the Institute of Technical Education, was lauded for her efforts at the annual Singapore Patient Action Awards.

Quek received the Singapore Patient Caregiver Award after a social worker who worked with the family nominated her.

The award, she added, felt like a validation of her efforts.

“I never expected to get an award and it was quite surprising.

“I felt happy – the award is a confirmation that I did something right,” she said.

Quek said she, her mum and her two sisters, now aged 14 and 16, also become closer when her mum was sick.

It was while taking care of her mother that Quek started noticing the tireless work being done by nurses at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

“I learnt how to take care of my mother from the nurses, and they even told me I was a fast learner,” she said.

“I also realised that they were far more hands-on in a patient’s daily life compared with a doctor. That appealed to me.”

Their dedication influenced Quek and eventually led her to choosing nursing as a future career. — The Straits Times/ANN