Office Hours with Henry Siu

Henry Siu knows a thing or two about aging.

As a full-time academic family physician, he sees patients every day with complex needs related to aging, and his clinical practice has informed his research pursuits in long-term care.

But it was his special relationship with his paternal grandmother, or his Mah Mah (Cantonese), that inspired his connection with older adults and his perspective on embracing a full life at any age.

Inspired by his grandmother’s tenacity

Siu immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1984 with his parents, grandmother, and his two younger siblings. His parents spent a lot of time working to support their family, and so his grandma, Suk Chun, was his primary caregiver.

“My grandmother immigrated with us in her 70s. And for her to have left everything that she’s built in Hong Kong and to come and start a completely new life, and for me to watch her thrive in terms of finding friends in our neighborhood… I think what I saw from her was her tenacity of spirit in terms of jumping in and trying to make her life and this culture her own.”

Siu fondly remembers her putting a Chinese spin on French Fries and using the alternative ingredients to make Rice Krispie squares. Though her creations in the kitchen weren’t always a success, Siu says she was always proud to try new things.

His grandmother was healthy throughout her life and was not on medication, even up until she passed away in her 90s. Siu remembers when she suffered a hip fracture and met the recovery with determination. She did the prescribed exercises daily without fail, rain or shine.

“That was something that really inspired me to not judge someone who’s older and their ability to adapt to a new situation. When I work with my older adult patients, I never presume they cannot do something or cannot make a change to their benefit.”

“A lot of that attitude came from me watching my grandmother make lemonade from the lemons that she was given in her life.”

Family medicine as a lesson in multitasking

Siu, an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, started his career as a resident with McMaster in 2008, and joined the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2013.

“What I love about family medicine is that I know a little bit about everything, and I can help as many people as possible. And I think, in a way, that is multitasking. I’m a supreme multitasker,” he says.

At Stonechurch Family Health Centre where he’s medical director, Siu provides clinical care for patients that range from babies to older adults. He also supervises medical residents and champions them to be “as helpful as they can, to as many people as they can.” The rest of his time is dedicated to scholarship, which includes his research in long-term care, as well as an education leadership role for third-year medical residents.

In a single day, Siu shifts from patients presenting with very different needs. One moment can be about grief counselling, the next about medications, and another about resource management and helping a patient navigate the system.

“All of that really interests me and it keeps my brain moving from one task to the next, so I’m not feeling like I’m doing the same thing every day. That’s partly why I entered the academic world –  it’s another way to stretch my mind and allows me to think in a different way. I really like the ability to do multiple things all at once.”

Embracing aging and living a full life

One thing Siu can always count on is seeing a patient who laments about aging.

“I don’t go through a day in clinic where one of my older adult patients won’t say, ‘It sucks getting old!’ But I think we need to be realistic and embrace the fact that we are all going to get old.”

Siu says it’s the way we perceive what aging means for our lives and functionality that makes the difference. There’s a difference, he says, between someone in their 70s who decides life is over and stops engaging in activities they enjoy, and someone who acknowledges things might be more challenging or painful, but gives themselves the time and space to still try to do the things they want to do with accommodations.

“Having a mental attitude about not limiting yourself just because of your medical conditions or your health allows you to have a full quality of life. So even though your body will physically get old, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still have a full life.”

That mentality is one Siu associates with his Mah Mah.

“When she fractured her hip in her 70s – she didn’t let people write her off, she kind of defied the odds with that intensity of her own spirit. She wanted to be as functional as she could, she didn’t give up and wouldn’t settle for something less.”