talk 729

Report from La Jolla
Aug.10, 2007
Lau Siu-Wai ( HKPC1959)

I called Chemistry Cheung Lo-See at the nursing home around noon (Toronto time) on Aug 8, 2007. Got transferred to his room readily. Silky Cheung (daughter) and my classmate SM Chan were in the room. I tried to talk to Cheung sir, but he was not able to hold a sustained conversation with me due to his problem in hearing, and of course Cheung sir had no idea who I was. Talked to Silky instead for about 15 minutes, and on the following day held a rather long discussion with Silky for about 1.5 to 2 hours about Cheung sir’s medical and financial situation.

My classmate intends to write a more in-depth and analytical report on Cheung sir. I will give a brief impression of the situation here, extracted from the conversation with Silky, and with SM.

I was told that Cheung sir suffers from a nerve problem, he is incapacitated. He can barely stand up at times, and definitely cannot walk. He is very hard at hearing, and not necessarily has the full functions of his arms and hands. He needs to be spoon-fed. SM took this photo of the feeding scene; he generously let me show it here. The photo gives you an idea of what it is like.

Photographer: S. M. Chan (class of 1959)

Furthermore, Cheung Sir’s mind suffers from dementia at times. One of the eyes cannot see, and on and on…. Well, you get the general picture here. Cheung Sir is no longer the Cheung sir when he taught us. The Cheung sir of yesteryear was sharp, lively and humorous. He was a tremendous teacher, respected and loved by over 30 years of PCers.

So one can conclude here that Cheung sir’s health is not at its best at present.

What about his financial situation? I am not familiar with the Canadian social security system for the elderly. Can’t say too much here.

I intend to wait for a calm, measured and accurate report from my Canadian classmate SM Chan in due course.