SINGAPORE - When my mother lost her sense of taste and smell after she got Covid-19 in April, she lost whatever appetite she used to have.
Meat, in particular, became repulsive to her.
Worried about the lack of protein in her diet, I decided to order and have delivered to her fish collagen soup, which is easier to swallow.
The soup comes in vacuum-sealed cups. Upon hearing about my mother, the staff at the company - AO Broth - took it upon themselves to shrink-wrap each cup for added hygiene.
The soup was kept in the ward freezer at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where my mother was hospitalised.
Once a day, an NCID nurse - one of them was Joel from the Philippines, newly arrived at the centre - would heat up a cup for my mother despite the added work required.
When the soup ran out, it was explained to us that we should not send any more over.
The rule, understandably, was that delivery of items to patients in isolation would be allowed just once, so that the staff could focus on caring for the patients instead of traipsing up and down to collect packages from the ground floor.
In stepped my mother's doctor, Dr Barnaby Young. "Send the soup to me," he said. "And I will get it to her."
On top of seeing her daily and extending to her top-notch medical care, he personally delivered the soup to her ward.
My mother was discharged from NCID on Friday (May 28), exactly a month after she tested positive for Covid-19 while warded for another ailment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Throughout those 30 days, there were many acts of kindness from friends, colleagues and strangers.
A colleague from Lianhe Zaobao, whom I had met but fleetingly, curated, packed and dropped off a box of limited-edition Chinese-language books for my mother.
A former hotelier whom I last met two decades ago for an interview called with offers of help, including advice on getting a night light for my mother.
The healthcare worker who did my exit swab during my quarantine did so with utmost care.
A security officer bantered with some of us stuck in quarantine. He must have known we were starved of social interaction.
There were many others.
Such gentle and generous kindness has been the one silver lining in this episode.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
