Visit to Mr. John Eynon at Orange Valley Nursing Home in Singapore.
Visit report written by John Wu of SPC 1965 at the following website:
SPC 1965 <spc1965reunion@yahoo.com>
wrote:Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 07:05:34 -0700 (PDT)
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Please read the visit report written by John Wu.
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Joe Yiu and John Wu visited John Eynon in Singapore on Friday, March 2, 2007.
The meeting was organized by Dr. Roger Pang (SPC1963) and Mrs. Lily Wong, John Eynon's friend who saved him from ruins and put him in this nursing home.
Lily drove us there around 10:00 am. John was in a group meeting with other residents. As he saw us approaching, he was quite excited and got up to greet us.
Unfortunately, he could not remember either of us and needed to be introduced. For the first 30 minutes with him, we tried to bring back his memories of SPC. We showed him photos taken in the good old days, but he could not remember a thing. The only person he vaguely remembered is Big Head Sung. He also seemed to have memory of the campus of SPC (even in its current form) when photos were presented to him.
We then went to a nearby mall. As we strolled along, we suggested buying him grocery, daily needs and/or books to read. He said he had no need for them and did not want us to spend money.
We had a lunch there. We walked back to the nursing home and showed him our 1965 Reunion CD. He saw the happy faces but, again, could not recognize us at all.
We went up to see his room and then spent some time in the common room. We went through the individual photos in the Wayfarer, giving a brief account of most of us the best we know. He listened attentively and seemed to appreciate what we told him.
Before we left, we asked him if he remembered our name. He could not. We told him that we, or our classmates, would come again. He said only if it does not interfere with our work. Seeing that he might be tired, we left at 2:30 pm.
John is 70 years old now, just an older version of what he once was. He made fun of himself when he saw picture of his old self with a lot more hair. Physically he is fine but he lost a lot of memories.
Lily thought he needs a stick and gave him one. He does not need it nor use it, just carries it around. Funny thing was, when we went out, he was looking for his stick, not realizing that he was carrying it in his hands!
The nursing home is near the Changi Hospital in the neighborhood of the airport. It is a new building open for about a year.
Life is simple in the nursing home. He has occasional gathering sessions with fellow residents. He eats dinner early and goes to bed around 8:00 pm.
He is in a room with 6 or 7 men. He has a single bed with an overhead shelf and side drawer.
Outside, there is a huge common room where they eat, read and watch TV. There is a nurse station.
Every time, he goes up or down the building, an amah would accompany him. People can visit him and take him out. He, a Catholic, goes with Lily to Methodist Church on Sundays.
We gathered from Mrs. Lily Wong and Dr. Roger Pang that there are four parties interested in helping him:
1. First and foremost, Mrs. Lily Wong. She and her late husband went to school with him in London. It was Lily who took him away from people deceiving him and hid him initially in a hospital for two months (March 2006), then to the current nursing home. She arranged to have a doctor to certify that anything he signs is not valid. Apparently, she is now paying for the nursing home fee (S$1,500 per month).
2. A friend who lived upstairs from John in the 1980's and 1990's and helped him then. He later migrated to Canada and visited John last year. According to Lily, he wanted to set up a committee to look after John, with him looking after the financial matters and Lily attending to the everyday care.
3. John's students in Singapore.
4. Last, but not least, us SPC students.
It will take some time to sort out how best to collectively help him. There is no urgent need to come up with an immediate solution. He was not able to identify Joe and me, his visitors chatting with him for half a day. Nonetheless, it breaks up his daily routine and he seems to enjoy talking to us.
We cannot help him bring back his happy moments in SPC. Just as well, any unfortunate past does not come back to haunt him. He seems content and comfortable with his current environment. He is not depressed or miserable.
We may not think the current situation is ideal for him; but, perhaps he is happy in his own definition of happiness. We are glad that we went to see him. You may want to do so when you visit Singapore next.
John Wu
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