Reuben and Edna
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.
Reuben is in his 30s and has a brain injury, epilepsy and weakness on his right side.
Edna, his mum, told the Royal Commission that when Reuben was a toddler, doctors discovered a tumour in his brain.
The first procedure, an ‘eight-hour gruelling surgery’, removed ‘hardly any tumour … because it was in a very deep-seated area of the brain’.
Reuben began experiencing seizures, but the hospital sent him home to the family’s regional town.
When the wound in Reuben’s head became infected ‘he was then airlifted back to the children's hospital’.
Edna said treatment of Reuben’s tumour in Australia seemed to be ‘substandard’ and she sought opinions overseas.
‘I had to try and find a neurosurgeon who could remove his tumour and save his life, so I was informed about [a doctor in the United States] and that’s where we ended up going.’
The doctor removed most of the remaining tumour, and Reuben’s seizures stopped.
About 15 years ago, a car hit Reuben while he was riding a pushbike. He had been wearing a helmet, but the seizures returned.
Several years ago, Edna was evicted from her home. Police arrested Reuben and Edna and placed them in the watch house.
‘They specifically didn't want [Reuben] anywhere near me, and he was being tormented, where he was refused to go to the bathroom, and they kept him and I there for eight hours, during which time his medications were due.’
Reuben said they never retrieved his medication and ‘treated [both of them] like shit, like animals’.
Reuben said that when he asked to be with his mother, police assaulted him.
‘The shock [Reuben] was going through when he was being dragged by the throat, his left arm – you know, because of his neurological damage – it was straight up to his side and it was as stiff as a board.’
Edna said police dismissed her complaint, but Reuben’s seizures ‘came back with a vengeance’.
‘They haven't stopped.’
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.