Isadora
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Isadora has epilepsy and when she was 17 her mother put her in a nursing home.
Isadora is now in her early 30s. One day, after waking up with what felt like flu, she went to a doctor who gave her cough syrup and cold and flu tablets, and told her to rest.
‘Because I am an epileptic, that night I had a seizure and fell out of bed and was on the floor with vomit all over me until morning, when my best friend found me unconscious in my room.’
Her friend called an ambulance and Isadora was admitted to hospital with bacterial pneumonia so severe she was placed in an induced coma for 10 days.
While in the coma, Isadora had a stroke that left her unable to move her right arm or leg, speak or open her right eye.
Isadora survived but now uses a wheelchair and wears a helmet for seizures. She told the Royal Commission she blames her current situation on lack of appropriate care.
‘What happened to me made me really angry because doctors are supposed to check you everywhere and be thorough and if my doctor had done that then she wouldn’t have missed the pneumonia. Also the carers neglected me by not checking on me enough. They usually checked on me during the night because of my seizures, but this night they didn’t.’
Isadora now has full-time carers.
‘Please do not put your disabled children in some care home, cause if you have listened to my story you will understand why.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.