Mr Tan Soon Cheng, affectionately known as Uncle Sam had a simple wish. In fact, it is what many of us unknowingly take for granted— spending time with his family.

Since his diagnosis of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma, he realized that he had been so caught up in his work that he did not have much opportunities to spend time with his wife and two children.

As such, his wish was heartfelt yet simple- to bring his family to USS for a day of fun and staycation to create  as many beautiful memories with his family as possible.

It was in the little things that made his wish so special— a photographer to capture those memories as a gift for his family, and a simple meal of his favourite fish soup.

Our team of volunteers came together to make his wish come true. Other than the family time he so valued, the volunteers decided to make his staycation extra special. A photobooth was set up in the hotel room for the family to have a night of fun together, with pictures of memories together plastered around the room as a sweet surprise for the family to reminiscence the fond memories they had together.

Despite his fatigue, Uncle Sam turned up and enjoyed the time he spent with his family at USS. In spite of his valiant efforts, fatigue overwhelmed him and he had no choice but to return to the hospice early. Nevertheless, the joy of the wish was not lost— his family had a wonderful day and night celebrating the wonderful familial ties that connected them, savouring the joy they experienced from just being together.