Joong's story

19 Sep 2019

19 September 2019 

Joong was born with a cyanotic congenital heart disease, which affects oxygen flow to the heart preventing him from doing any activities, due to a low blood oxygen level.

Joong was then diagnosed with renal cell cancer in 2013 at age 35 when his spine collapsed. 

“I was in agonising pain, and they put me in a neck brace, and I couldn’t move. I had a back operation to insert a metal rod into my spine to keep it stable,” Joong said.

Joong received the news that he had spinal metastasis, and a life expectancy of only a few years.

In the first few months of his treatment Joong was feeling bored, depressed and having suicidal thoughts, feeling he was in a hopeless situation.

“At my lowest point during treatment I was feeling depressed and suicidal. That is when I was referred to Footprints Day Centre,” Joong said.

“The centre provided a place for me to focus on something other than my illness, to meet people who could relate to what I was going through, and enjoy other therapies like Reflexology and Reiki.

“These were so relaxing and put me into a peaceful sleep, which I wasn’t getting much of at the time. Finding the centre was a blessing,”

Joong now also takes part in art and craft activities which provide meaningful distraction, which he says have been invaluable during treatment.

Thanks to generous Foundation donors’ support of Footprints Day Centre, located at Murdoch Community Hospice, we are able to help provide holistic healthcare and alternative therapies for patients living with life-limiting conditions, as well as their families and carers.

Your support to St John of God Foundation helps provide life-changing care to people like Joong.

For more information or to support St John of God Foundation, please call (08) 9381 0300 or email [email protected].