Second wellness centre for stroke survivors opens in Jurong Point
Bigger facility in Jurong will help meet growing demand
She was 38 and seven months pregnant when she had a stroke. Ms Stephanie Lim collapsed in May 2013 while having dinner with her family at Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre.
It was only when she awoke from a coma 2½ weeks later that she realised she had given birth.
Ms Lim had also lost strength in the left side of her body.
The senior marketing and business development manager suspected her high-stress work environment may have caused the stroke.
In tears, she told The New Paper: "The doctor told me I had a 5 per cent chance of survival. I'm so glad my daughter and I lived. It's a miracle."
Ms Lim regained her confidence after attending rehabilitation programmes at the Stroke Support Station (S3), a volunteer-led centre dedicated to stroke survivors and caregivers.
Yesterday, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee was present as S3 opened its second wellness centre, located at Jurong Point.
S3 chairman Teo Poh-Yim said: "S3's programmes are currently oversubscribed resulting in long queues. In order to meet the increasing demand for S3's services, a second centre was necessary."
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in Singapore, with about 7,500 new cases a year.
With the new centre, which is almost twice the size of the first one-at Enabling Village in Lengkok Bahru-stroke survivors can be better taken care of.
The community support Ms Lim received at S3 was important. She said: "We cannot receive the empathy that we feel here any where else. "
Mr John Seah Yam Sung, 59, who had four strokes between 2007 and 2017, said: "Since joining S3, my motor skills have improved and that gave me confidence."
Dr Wong Chiang Yin, chief executive of S3, said there are plans to offer respite services to caregivers so they can care for themselves too.
To stroke survivors and caregivers, Ms Lim said: "Always believe in yourself. Have confidence and know that you can do it.
"We can't change our paths, but we can always look forward."
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