3 years ago, Frederick Tan suddenly suffered a stroke, leading him to leave his job in Sales and Management. Under his family’s support and encouragement, the 54 year old didn’t let it slow him and and juggled between being a freelance SAF Trainer and Part-time cleaner with Helpling Singapore.
Find out more about Frederick’s journey here!
Q. What were you doing before Helpling?
Prior to Helpling, I was a Global Sales & Marketing Manager in various companies and industries. I had co-owned and co-ran a polymer parts manufacturing company in Singapore for 4 years. It was only until I was diagnosed with Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) that I decided to leave my job.
Q. When did you suffered from stroke?
March 2013. It was very sudden for me and I was hospitalised for 4 days.
Q. Pls share and elaborate some of the major life changes that the stroke caused, and how did you feel about the changes?
At that point, I asked myself “WHY ME!!” & all my family members & friends were all surprised as I was known to be a fitness freak. I had no support from my ex-employer and thus decided to leave my job as a salaried man i.e. to be paid to work under stress and no support on my chronic status from employer. I had to adapt to this change of fate in my life by looking for other options of income.
Were there any side effects from stroke?
Yes. The side effects included poor memory, poor control of left hand, poor sense of direction when moving/driving around, slower reaction and loss of words to use during conversations.
How did you remain optimistic? What did your family do to help?
I went into a depression and became very short-tempered. However, being the sole bread winner in my family, I had to remaine optimistic and refused to accept the fact that my life had to stop there. Having been in Sales & Marketing, Business Management all these years have gave me the will power to strive on. My family were my biggest supporters and never gave up on me.
How did you get to know Helpling, and why did you decide to become a freelance cleaner?
I got to know about Helpling through Facebook advertisements. My freelance work with the SAF slowed down after 1.5 years and I was looking for supplementary income in between my training assignments with SAF. Helpling gave me the flexibility to work when I wanted and decided and so I decided to become a freelance cleaner.
What do you like most about working with Helpling?
I enjoy the satisfaction I receive from the good feedbacks and appreciation when they thank me.
Interested in joining Helpling cleaners team? Visit our cleaning jobs page.
