In late March 2020, 27-year-old Zaighum Punzalan received a phone call that would profoundly change his life. It was from his mom, Thala. “I have lung cancer,” she said. At the time, Zaighum was 12,500 kilometres from his mom, busily living his best life in Sydney, Australia, with no plans in his near future to return to his hometown of Surrey, BC.
Zaighum is the adored only child of Thala Punzalan. He was born in 1993 at Surrey Memorial Hospital and his entire life, he and his mom had been a team of two. Thala had come to BC from the Philippines in 1990 to be a nanny. She had dreams of being a nurse and was pursuing this goal by taking night classes at Kwantlen College (now known as Kwantlen University) which is where she met Zaighum’s father. When she found out she was expecting Zaighum, she made the decision to raise him on her own.
As a single mom, living thousands of kilometres from her family, Thala had to let go of her dream of becoming a nurse – she simply could not afford to complete a nursing degree while supporting herself and Zaighum. Instead, she shifted her focus on building a business. She set up a house cleaning service and soon had a full roster of clients, several of whom grew to become lifelong friends.
“My mom took her love for working with seniors and her experience as a nanny and decided to open a cleaning business. But she was more than the house cleaner,” recalls Zaighum. “She became these people’s family. It wasn’t just cleaning their homes. She ended up being like their companion.”
While Thala may have given up her own plans for a nursing education, she made it clear to Zaighum that university was in his future, and she contributed to an education savings plan for him from birth. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership from Trinity Western University, and this month, he graduates with his Master of Social Work from Western Sydney University with a focus in end-of-life care. His master’s degree, of course, was inspired by his experience with his mom’s illness and eventual end-of-life journey.
“As soon as I got the call from my mom, I got the very last commercial flight from Australia before the Covid shutdown. When I returned to Canada, I was in quarantine for two weeks. And when I got out of quarantine, my mom was in the oncology unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital. It was here that we learned she was terminal.”
A deeply faithful and courageous woman, Thala was determined to spend one last Christmas with her “anak ko” (Tagalog meaning “my child”), a goal that she achieved. She went home from Surrey Memorial Hospital that April and went back to work which Zaighum says gave her a sense purpose.
“My mom’s passion for her business and the love for her clients were so obvious. She worked until the week before she died, because, despite her illness, she said, ‘they still need me, and I still need them’.”
Thala celebrated Christmas of 2021 with her beloved son and close friends. It was very early January 2022 that she was admitted back into Surrey Memorial Hospital. She passed on January 13, 2022, with Zaighum by her side.
“The palliative care team at Surrey Memorial delivered such remarkable care for my mom in her final days. Their approach is exactly what my mom needed. It is equitable, patient-driven, and patient-centered end-of-life care.”
A Legacy That Lives On
This experience not only inspired Zaighum to pursue his graduate degree in end-of-life social work, but to make not one, but two gifts to Surrey Hospitals Foundation.
“I am my mom’s son and my mom was one of the most generous people I’ve ever known. After she passed, I thought ‘I have to give a thank you gift to the palliative care team. That’s what my mom would want.’ One of the things I always did was give her roses on Valentine’s Day. I decided to give a gift on Valentine’s Day, to express my love for her, and to give a gift to the to the palliative care team to say thank you for taking care of not only my mom, but all the people in that unit. So, I made a $5,000 gift to Surrey Hospitals Foundation.”
“My second gift to the Foundation was to honour what would have been my mom’s 65th birthday in 2023. My mom hated needles and finding veins on very sick patients can be difficult and painful. The hospital had this vein finding machine. It brought such relief and comfort to my mom when they got the vein on the first try. I thought ‘what greater gift to give my mom, a person from very modest beginnings, than to create a legacy that will provide comfort to every single person in palliative care for years to come. My mom, who wanted to be a registered nurse, is now providing care that she couldn’t give as a nurse, instead she’s giving it in this piece of equipment.”
Zaighum made a $10,000 donation to mark Thala’s 65th birthday, and Surrey Memorial Hospital’s very grateful palliative care team and patients benefitted from a brand-new vein finding machine.
Zaighum knows that his mom would be proud of him. He is currently in the process of applying for an Australian work permit so he can officially start putting his degree to work. When asked if he would consider coming back to Canada, specifically Surrey Memorial Hospital, to join the palliative care team as a social worker, he replied, “Absolutely not out of the question.” Thank you, Zaighum. Your mom surely is very proud.
