Shortly after Andy Lee, 45 years old, joined St. John’s Home for Elderly Persons as an Operations Executive, he was thrown into a whirlwind of adapting to the strict measures handed down by the Ministries to protect the Home from COVID-19. Here is his account during May’s Circuit Breaker when several of the Home’s staff were housed in a designated hotel.
I was a salesperson before I joined St. John’s Home on 9th March. God led me to St John’s Home and blessed me with supportive colleagues who patiently guide me in this new role.
The Start of The Many Measures
On 11th March, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Wave after wave, precautionary measures were introduced to the Home to keep our elderly residents and staff safe from the virus. Everyone was overwhelmed and tired, yet relentlessly, my colleagues worked long hours without complaints.
With the Home’s lockdown, a small number of live-in staff and residents start to develop “cabin-fever”. I try to alleviate any discomfort by talking to them, buying the food they were craving for and providing a listening ear.
Following the directives from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social and Family Development, on 1st May, all residents and staff went through the discomfort of the COVID-19 swab test. After everyone’s results came back negative, together with my three colleagues, I moved into the designated hotel and prepared myself for a long 30-day stay during the Circuit Breaker, away from any physical interaction with my family.
Many of my friends envy this seemingly luxurious timeout and stay, but I would like to share a little of the other end of the spectrum.
Missing My Family
Only after 4 hours in the hotel room at Parkroyal On Kitchener Road, I called my wife to lament my boredom.
Apart from working in the Home, I have only limited movement of 10 steps from the windows of my hotel room to the entrance of the room. During the long weekends, I would have several days of zero physical interaction with another person. The TV will be turned on for background sound in my waking hours, with me sometimes pacing up and down the room to kill time. The toughest part was being away from my family with my 3 kids yearning for me to be with them, even though we video-call for long hours on the phone. Praying and reading the bible gave me comfort.
My three other colleagues who was also staying at the hotel, did not have the slightest display of unhappiness. They even supported and encouraged me by passing me home-cooked food sent by their family members through the hotel concierge in the weekends.
Amidst the challenges, I gained many positive perspectives. The embodiment of team spirit is when a group of individuals work together towards common goals, putting aside personal differences and interests. It is through a crisis like this pandemic that we can see why qualities such as teamwork, selflessness and a can-do attitude matter more than our paper qualifications.
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13
- Contributed by Andy Lee, Operations Executive at St. John's Home for Elderly Persons.
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