bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Celine Sun

Nursing home helps residents regain their confidence
Tsui Kam-chi, 84, is a fan of yum cha, but dining at restaurants had become rare since she developed Parkinson's disease years ago.
The condition, common among the elderly, brought about a host of problems for Ms Tsui, including trembling hands.
'She was very ashamed of her trembling hands,' her son, Fan Kwok-san, said. 'People often looked at her hands curiously in the restaurant. It hurt her self-esteem.'
Sleep disorders and memory loss were  other symptoms. The disease also influenced her sense of balance, making her very prone to falls, especially when turning around.
'Going out was a heavy burden to her,' Mr Fan said. 'She even refused to go to the restaurant we booked to celebrate her birthday.'
In one  bad incident, Ms Tsui fell from a height while trying to clean the ceiling at home. It was then that Mr Fan decided to put her in round-the-clock care at the Haven of Hope Sister Annie Skau Nursing Home.
That was in 2005. Big changes started to surface just six months  later, much to Mr Fan's surprise.
'You cannot imagine my amazement when my mother told me happily that she had gone to yum cha again with other elderly people,'  he said.
'Actually, her hands shake less and she rarely falls nowadays. Most important of all, I can see she has become happier than before. I am very grateful to the nursing home.'
The transformation wrought by Haven of Hope is a result of the intensive rehabilitation training it offers to all its elderly residents, many of whom have a history of stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease or other illnesses.
Unlike other elderly nursing homes that do not go beyond daily care, Haven of Hope also provides occupational therapists who tailor-make rehabilitation training for each  resident, using various tools such as projectors, therapy balls, massage pads and music to stimulate their senses.
It is estimated that 10 to 60 per cent of people aged above 65 have multiple impairments in their sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch,  a result of the ageing process and severe diseases.
With the aid of Operation Santa Claus, the nursing home hopes to help more elderly people with sensory impairments. It will set up a multi-sensory stimulation environment in its building in Tseung Kwan O and adopt a 'sensory diet' to address individual needs.
Under the project,  the daytime activity area will become  a flexible sensory stimulation environment equipped with touchable  boards.  A sensory integration therapy corner and a sensory garden will  be set up.
The elderly will be divided into  groups according to their sensory integration problems, dementia and depressive issues.
At the home, Ms Tsui stands on a plank balanced on a huge ball to catch sandbags thrown by an occupational therapist from different directions. That is a way to improve her sense of balance and perception of her body movements.
'Granny Tsui has made a significant improvement,' occupational therapist Janette Tam Hiu-yan said.
'Now she has quicker eyeball movement and better perception of joint and body movements. She has not fallen in the past couple of years.
'Although the elderly are usually frail, most of them can actually enjoy a better quality of life by regaining their senses, the most precious gift that everyone is born with.'
Wish list
Wish: To enrich the quality of life and self-management of elders with dementia  through the creation of a 24-hour multisensory environment to help them regain their senses.
Funds required: HK$495,000



Therapy for the senses gives elderly a new lease of life