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Life Stories
The stories of our patients, whether they are in their final moments or in the process of recovery. Each patient has a touching story with valuable lessons for us to learn. By reading their stories, we can send them deep blessings and encouragement.
Their Final Journey
The value of life lies in benefiting others while fostering self-growth. Even after passing away, these individuals choose to donate their bodies to Silent Mentor Academy. They hope medical students can learn from them, hone their medical skills, and grow into compassionate, ethical physicians. They believe that lessons learned from these silent mentors may one day save another human life.
Booi Nei Wah: Living Meaningfully
Mr Booi Nei Wah had always lived alone. In 2023, after being diagnosed with gallbladder cancer, he was referred by the Jabatan Kerja Sosial Perubatan from the government hospital to Pusat Jagaan Pertubuhan Kebajikan Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan, where he stayed for 8 months.
Back on his own, he rented a small room upstairs in a shophouse, and made a modest living by selling socks, earning just enough to get by.
However, the challenges of life did not end there. One difficulty followed another.
One day in early 2025, Mr. Booi accidentally fell in his room. He felt pain extending from his spine to his lower body and was unable to move or get himself back up. He tried calling for help, but the other tenants happened to be away. He also tried contacting friends, hoping someone could come to his aid, but unfortunately, no one was able to arrive in time.
He was left lying helplessly on the floor for several hours. Then, at this moment of desperation, one phone call became his timely lifeline.
That day, the Principal of Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan, Mdm. Yong, happened to call him to check on how he was doing. When he answered the call, he told her that he had accidentally fallen and had been lying on the floor for several hours, with no one around to help him.
Upon learning of his situation, Mdm. Yong and the staff from Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan immediately rushed to his residence.
When they arrived, they found several rooms within the unit but did not know which room he was in. They called out his name repeatedly. Fortunately, he was still able to respond. Following the sound of his voice, they located his room, only to discover that the door was locked from the inside. Mr. Booi had fallen directly behind the door, while some items had also been knocked over during the fall and were piled up behind it, preventing the door from being opened normally.
In an urgent situation, the staff from Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan went downstairs to a nearby automotive workshop to seek assistance. Thankfully, the mechanic at the workshop were very kind and immediately offered their help, assisting them in forcing the door open. The staff then squeezed through the gap, and get into the room to move the objects blocking the door, and finally managed to open it.
When they found Mr. Booi, he was still conscious, but the pain was so severe that he was completely unable to move.
The staff from Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan immediately called for an ambulance and accompanied him to the hospital emergency department for examination. After a medical examination and X-ray, the doctors confirmed that he had suffered a muscle strain. He did not require hospital admission, but was advised to get adequate rest and take his medication as prescribed.
Although the examination results were not as serious as initially feared, Mr. Booi was still very weak and unable to walk normally. There were also signs that his cancer might have recurred.
Furthermore, the small room where he lived alone was not a suitable environment for recovery, and there was no one around to care for him. Even his daily activities had become increasingly difficult.
Considering his physical condition and living environment, Mdm. Yong decided to bring him back to the centre — a place where he could have companionship, receive care, and recover with greater peace of mind.
For Mr. Booi, that day may have seemed like nothing more than an unexpected fall. But without that timely call of care, the consequences could have been unimaginable.
Upon returning, he freed himself from endless overthinking that once trapped him. He eased anxiety and melancholy by focusing on people and causes he cared about. Amid medical treatment, he discovered and affirmed himself, walking more lightly along the path of treatment and confronting mortality.
From time to time, volunteers would take him out to enjoy his favourite asam laksa. During the Vesak Day celebration held at Jing Yuan, he also happily took part in the Buddha Bathing Ceremony.
Accompanied by volunteers from Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan, Mr. Booi had a chance to visited the Initiation Ceremony of Silent Mentor organized by Silent Mentor Academy. He witnessed educators and medical students treating every silent mentor with gratitude, reverence and kindness. It dawned on him that body donors are far more than anatomical specimens — they are respectable teachers.
This visit marked a turning point in his life. He began to reflect and embrace gratitude, learning to coexist peacefully with gallbladder cancer cells. At the same time, with the loving companionship and encouragement of Principal Mdm. Yong and the volunteers, Mr. Booi made the courageous decision to sign the consent form to donate his body for medical education and research, allowing him to live out the true value of his life.
To many, this is never an easy choice. Donating one’s body requires immense courage and conviction. Seeing medical student study diligently and care for each silent mentor with gratitude and awe, he knew his decision was worthwhile.
From never being able to let go, to eventually embracing and fully accepting himself, Mr. Booi learned to accept the arrival of impermanence with peace and serenity.
May you, Mr. Booi, complete this journey of life with a heart free of regrets, and may you depart peacefully, having fulfilled the purpose of your life.
Lee Siew Kuen: Transcending Suffering, Smiling at Life
Can we greet life with a smile when cancer comes uninvited? Some choose to shut their hearts, pretending this ordeal is meant for someone else. Lee Siew Kuan faced metastatic breast cancer with unwavering optimism.
A single mother separated from her husband, she has a 42-year-old unemployed son. The mother and son survived on monthly welfare aid, supplemented by income from scavenging. Their Christian church also provided regular living subsidies
She was referred to Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan by the General Hospital in 2024. By then, breast cancer had spread to her lungs, liver, bones and other organs. Though in the terminal stage, she loved singing cheerfully to entertain fellow residents, accepting the natural cycles of bloom and fade without attachment.
During this year’s Lunar New Year, volunteers from Jing Si Books & Cafe @ SS2, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, visited the hospice and sang festive songs with residents. It was Lee Siew Kuan’s moment to share her voice. She transcended physical suffering and smiled at life, aspiring to rise like a phoenix from the ashes amid her cancer battle.
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After navigating denial, frustration and grief, she re-examined her outlook on life. Supported and cared for by Rumah Kasih Jing Yuan volunteers, she regained courage to face her illness and opened a new chapter of life.
Driven by a heart of gratitude and aspiration to give back, she voluntarily signed the body donation consent form. Instead of suffering, she found joy. Through gratitude and selfless service, by doing good deeds that benefit others, she embodied the inherent value of life.
Though she can no longer sing, she leaves behind an invaluable lesson for medical education. This is the true spirit of a Silent Mentor — teaching through silent example to nurture virtuous doctors of tomorrow, allowing love and hope to endure.
May the boundless love of all Silent Mentors continue to warm countless families and light the path of medical education.