A SINGAPOREAN cancer patient had gifted his wife her first handmade leather bag after two months of crafting.
Assisi Hospice, located in Singapore shared the cancer patient, Michael Lee’s story on their Facebook page, stating that the 76-year-old man currently has pancreatic cancer.
Michael joined the hospice’s leather interest group in 2022 and took it upon himself to make a leather bag for his wife of 48 years from scratch.
“I may not have the strength to make another one. I hope that she can keep this bag as a remembrance,” Michael said.
He explained that his wife would carry a plastic bag for her things when going out. Therefore, he wanted to make her something nice that she could use.
“She would just grab a plastic bag for carrying things when she went out, so I wanted to make her something that is attractive, durable and practical,” he added.
Michael’s careful eye to detail was thanks to his experience as an optician also being mindful of the leather bag’s structure.
The hospice also said that he worked on the gift for two to three times weekly for two months putting in his time and effort measuring and cutting the leather, punching holes and stitching the bag together, with the assistance of their therapy aide.
Even though he was hospitalised during the bag’s crafting process, he managed to pull through and completed it by Christmas and gifted the tote to his wife during the hospice’s Christmas event and she accepted the bag graciously, also thanked her beloved husband for his hard work in making her gift.
“She was happy and surprised, and thanked me for all the effort,” Michael said.
