Looking at Mr Tay Sock Khiang, 53, who travels using a motorised wheelchair, one would be surprised to know that he is an active volunteer with SPD, a society for the physically disabled. He is also an NKF Patient Advocate and helps out in a handphone shop several times a week.
However, things were not always rosy for Sock Khiang. He was diagnosed with
diabetes in 2005. At that time, he was working as a sales manager and in order to entertain clients, he often had to drink with them. Even after being diagnosed with diabetes, he did not change his lifestyle and diet. He continued to drink heavily, did not exercise and suffered from asthma. As a result of his uncontrolled diabetes, he eventually had to amputate a leg. However, despite this, he still did not take steps to change his lifestyle habits and diet.
In January 2013, Sock Khiang, who was then working at a tuition centre, fainted at work. He was having a high fever and suffering from gangrene. In the hospital, doctors discovered that his kidneys had failed and he needed to start dialysis. On top of that, he had to have his remaining leg amputated.
As a result of his condition, Sock Khiang lost his job at the tuition centre. Fortunately, he was accepted into NKF’s
dialysis programme where his dialysis treatment is fully subsidised. As a single, he lives in a rented bedroom and his stepsister helps him financially with the rent. He helps out at his godmother’s handphone shop three times a week, on days when he does not have to go for dialysis. Sock Khiang said, “I have been unemployed for two years. It is not easy to find a new job as it is inconvenient for me to travel long distances on public transport, especially on rainy days.” Nonetheless, he is determined to improve his circumstances to find a new job with the help of the NKF Patient Advocacy & Rehabilitation department. He also faithfully spends time befriending and encouraging patients at Thye Hua Kwan hospital.
Despite the challenges life throws at him, Sock Khiang remains positive and resilient, a trait shared by many other kidney patients at NKF, who do not allow
kidney failure to define them, but are able to rise above their adversities and help others who are in need.
