Rejected by piano teachers, polio survivor finally got unexpected break at 62 years old

Resilience re-emerged as a buzzword during the Covid-19 pandemic, but I never truly grasped its deeper meaning until I met Ms Margaret See. 
At a rehearsal session on a Wednesday afternoon at a music centre located within Stadium MRT Station, I watched as Ms See played the keyboard expertly alongside her bandmates, performing a medley of songs ranging from Chinese oldies such as the late Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng’s Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin to the Indonesian track Selalu Cinta. 
Founded in 2008, Faith Music Centre offers music courses for both able-bodied learners and people with disabilities, partnering with various organisations to provide performance opportunities for its members.
Seated in her wheelchair, the 67-year-old swayed along to the music as her fingers fluttered over the keyboard, never missing a beat. 
To anyone watching, she appeared to be a seasoned keyboardist who had spent a lifetime perfecting her craft, which was why I was surprised to learn that she had just picked up the instrument five years ago.
As someone with no musical background and not having played musical instruments, I was quite excited when my editor asked me to have Ms See teach me a few notes on the keyboard.
That excitement quickly turned into stress as she guided me through a simple progression from chords C, A, F to G. The black and white keys looked the same, and I couldn’t remember which note was which.
“Don’t rush, don’t need to stress. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” Ms See reassured me. “Slowly, you try and you will get it. When the band comes in to play, you will hear (the song) come together.” 
I pressed on and sure enough, the Teresa Teng song Qia Si Ni De Wen Rou — which Ms See had been guiding me to play — rang out in full as the bass and drums joined in the set.
If anyone knows what being patient and waiting for results is like, it would be Ms See, who is a survivor of the polio pandemic that swept through Singapore in the 1950s.
A highly infectious viral disease, polio can affect the brain and spinal cord, cause paralysis or even death. It mostly affects children under the age of five. All children here have to get vaccinated against polio under the current Singapore National Childhood Immunisation Schedule.
Ms See was diagnosed when she was a year old and the disease affected both of her limbs, leaving her reliant on callipers and later a wheelchair for mobility. 
As she grew up, she suffered through scorn and stigma, which often alienated people with disabilities.
“During that era, we were not welcomed in (society) because of our disability. When I went out, people would be staring at me from head to toe, or at my legs,” she recalled. 
Searching for jobs was another obstacle. Companies would reject her as soon as they saw in her job application form that she had a disability.
However, these difficulties only made her stronger and drove her to focus her energy into playing music.
In 2019, a collaboration between the Disabled People’s Association and Faith Music Centre introduced Ms See to the centre’s Band Mentorship Program. 
It was then that she started learning the keyboard and soon joined the centre’s performing band, Parabeatz. The band comprises both able-bodied and physically disabled members.
Her goal, though, was not to simply master an instrument — it was also to touch lives. Through her performances at eldercare and disability homes, she found a deeper purpose in giving back to society.
Since 2020, Ms See has played in about 20 performances at various events and her favourite part has been connecting with her audience. 
“When we perform at nursing homes, some of the residents come up to you and shake your hand, sometimes even crying. There was one who hugged me. 
“Because they don’t often get visitors, I feel like the best thing I can do is to bring them some happiness. If music can do that, why not?”
When she was three years old, Ms See’s parents were unable to care for her due to work commitments, so she was placed at the Red Cross Home for the Disabled, where she stayed until she was 11. 
She received physiotherapy and basic education at the home and she later enrolled in a primary school. 
Being in a mainstream school setting, she was often excluded from physical activities due to her reduced mobility, and even music lessons became a source of heartache. She had longed to learn to play the piano, but was repeatedly told that it was impossible for her. 
“I would watch others enjoy sports like bowling, but I couldn’t participate. 
“During music lessons, I saw my friends playing instruments in the school band. I wanted to play the piano, but I was told I couldn’t because I needed a foot to step on the pedal. There were times when I asked myself, ‘Why me?’”
To find solace, she simply listened to music, often tuning in to classical music on the radio.
“Music offered me comfort so that I would not fall into self-pity.”
Even into adulthood, Ms See’s desire to play the piano did not fade. She continued to search for opportunities to learn, visiting various music schools in the hope of finding one that would accommodate her. 
Time and again, instructors told her that learning the piano would be impossible without the ability to use her legs for the pedals. This went on for decades, from her 20s to her 60s.
When the opportunity to learn the keyboard came her way in 2019, Ms See eagerly embraced it.
Then, when Covid-19 struck and lessons had to be conducted online via video-conference site Zoom, she could not get access to a keyboard and improvised by practising finger placements on a paper version at home.
“The opportunity to learn to play the keyboard happened to come when I was in my 60s. Even though I am now reaching 70, I decided to just take every opportunity to learn as much as I can.”
When she began performing regularly at nursing and disability homes, Ms See said that it brought back some memories.
“It reminded me of when I was a young girl at the Red Cross Home where my parents, who had to earn a living, came to visit me once a year. 
“When I see the happiness on (the residents’) faces, I also feel happy,” she added.
Apart from playing music for residents of nursing homes, Ms See initiated a clothes donation drive in July this year for residents living at Mindsville@Napiri, after seeing the condition of the clothes that some residents were wearing during her weekly performances there.
Mindsville@Napiri is a residential home run by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore, which provides care and accommodation for children (six years old and above) and adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Some of the residents wore clothes of odd sizes and cutting, while some of their clothes were torn.
“So I decided to start a donation drive at the centre and we eventually collected 33 boxes of clothes for them to wear,” she said. 
In total, the collection and distribution of clothes took about a week to come to fruition.
I was deeply impressed by Ms See’s commitment to help others even though she herself was shunned by society at a young age. I was curious about whether she felt that life had dealt her a bad hand and how she kept herself from slipping into being despairing and defeatist. 
“Life has its challenges, but these are the experiences that we have to bear with to make us stronger. 
“If you have the desire to do something, you can conquer obstacles one step at a time, no matter how tough life is. It depends on how much you want it, and of course, if you are willing to work hard for it,” she said.
I could not help but feel a sense of admiration for her resilience and compassion. Her ability to rise above adversity and dedicate herself to serve others was truly inspiring. 
As I left that rehearsal session, I carried with me not just what I learnt of music chords, but also a reminder that giving back can be a source of healing for both the receiver and the giver.