His last Valentine's Day: Man with terminal cancer makes hand cast as keepsake for wife and unborn child

Forty-four-year-old Yiu was preparing to welcome a new addition to his family when he was diagnosed with end-stage liver cancer last February.

Wanting to gift his wife and their unborn child a keepsake, the cancer-stricken man created a hand cast in his final moments.

His and his pregnant wife's touching story was shared by Assisi Hospice in a Valentine's Day post yesterday (Feb 14).

In a photo that accompanied the post, Yiu's wife is sitting by his bedside, their hands linked and in a bucket of alginate mixture, immortalising the print of their interlocked hands in a 3D sculpture.

Yiu's liver cancer diagnosis came after he experienced persistent pain in his abdominal area.

The size of the tumour was found to be too big for medical treatment. He was recommended to receive palliative care and admitted to Assisi Hospice a little under a month later.

There, an art therapist suggested for Yiu to create a hand cast as a form of remembrance for their child in the future.

"Even though he was already very weak, he persisted and even did one more hand cast, holding my hand," shared his wife, Mrs Yiu.

It was a "loving and touching moment" which brought tears to Mrs Yiu's eyes, said the hospice.

Unfortunately, Yiu's condition deteriorated quickly, and he died the day after making the mould. The hand cast was later presented to Mrs Yiu at the wake.

In addition to the cast as a memento for the family, the art therapist had also helped to create an artwork with the handprints of his family.

His heartbeat was also recorded by the hospice's music therapist, as a form of remembrance for his unborn child.

Said Mrs Yiu: "The hand cast looks very real, you can see the lines on his hand. When I miss him, I will look at his photos, and also the hand cast that we made."

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com