The world of Tzu Chi June 2020 (Vol.123)

2020 • 06 42 By Yap Chai Hoon Translated by Yap Yen Ying Photographs by Chua Teck Ching ouching Life Story Chew Wai Tooh spent most of his time attending to his dementia-stricken mother, yet he had never resented her. “She always ventured outside and refused to come home despite my repeated pleas. She even reprimanded me sometimes. Her memory was declining with age. She behaved like a child,” recounted Wai Tooh, who cared meticulously for his elderly mother until her recent demise. The Unconditional Love of a Filial Son T zu Chi care recipient Chew Wai Tooh resides in the Pangsapuri Kampung Aman block of flats in Serdang, Selangor. His unit appeared different from the others at a cursory glance: advertisement banners of all sizes were strung from the metal railing along the corridor. Behind the banners, Wai Tooh’s mother was seated at the door to their unit, while Wai Tooh carefully wiped his mother’s face clean with a damp towel before proceeding to gently smoothen her hair. This had become a part of Wai Tooh’s daily routine, to which he committed come rain or shine. The elderly Mrs Chew not only had greying hair, a gaunt frame and weak limbs, she was also losing her agility and memory as she aged. Her recollections of events that occurred as recent as several years back were now short-lived. The