A resident at HealthServe Desker Shelter, TK was hoping to return home this Deepavali to see his family of 5 and was especially looking forward to seeing his two little ones, who have just started Kindergarten and Primary school. He last saw his family 3 years ago.

Unfortunately, while he was washing an excavator during a night shift, he slipped and fell – hurting his right hand. Upon closer inspection at the hospital, they identified that his wrist had broken and sent him in for an operation the following day. However, after the operation, he was sent back with just some wrapped bandages around his arm and a numbing injection, but without any Medical Certificate (MC). 

Fearing that the company might send him back, after a week of light work, TK went on his own to another hospital in order to attain a MC. 

Since then, TK has had a metal plate inside his wrist but has not regained full motion. He is also worried about the future as his family depends on him as the primary source of income.

TK heard about Healthserve though another one of our residents, H, who he had met at a park. He has received assistance in MRT top-ups, shelter and casework through the Desker Food Project. He also had an extraction for his wisdom tooth through our doctors’ referral. Without Healthserve, TK felt that he would be on his own. When asked how having a community has helped him through his time, he replied saying that he is friendly with everyone and that “it is like his family and second home”. 

Although he was only with us for 3 months, he nostalgically expressed that he would definitely miss us. TK’s case has since been resolved and has returned home. As of now, we are glad that he has found a community in HealthServe and we wish him a quick recovery.