Brycen and Caiden
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.
Brycen is in his 30s and has an acquired brain injury (ABI) after a haemorrhage at work several years ago.
‘He had several hours of brain surgery and he was in a coma,’ his father Caiden told the Royal Commission. ‘The prognosis was not good. The surgeon was preparing us for ending life support. [Brycen] must have heard that because the next day he woke up.’
Doctors transferred Brycen to a hospital rehabilitation unit, which failed to provide any cognitive therapy.
‘They had all of the clinical data, but they didn't have any of the … input from allied health … He was [also] refused permission or access or support for using the toilet and instead was forced to use the bedpan.’
Brycen had been in the unit for more than a year when the hospital ‘started making noises’ about him moving out.
‘We said, “No he's not being discharged. He's got a lot of work to do yet.” … [but] they were absolutely focused on discharging him.’
The NDIS was being rolled out at the time and the hospital, unable to find a service provider willing to take Brycen, tried to put him into residential aged care. Caiden fought the move because it would be ‘extremely detrimental to his wellbeing and recovery’. The hospital applied to have a public guardian appointed.
‘A guardian would be more cooperative with them on putting [Brycen] into residential aged care … And it wasn't until we backed down and said we would consider the aged care options before they withdrew the [guardianship] application.’
Caiden said that while the hospital looked for nursing homes that would take him, it neglected Brycen.
‘Once he was out of bed into his wheelchair he could move around, but he couldn't even get support to get out of bed at times because as far as [the] hospital was concerned he was just taking up space.’
Brycen met a young woman in hospital who also had an ABI and they ‘developed feelings for each other’.
‘They asked the nursing staff if it would be okay for them to have some privacy in [Brycen's] room so that they could extend their relationship, and immediately there was pandemonium.’
Caiden said the hospital moved Brycen into a ward with locked doors and security guards ‘as a means of protecting her from sexual assault’ by Brycen.
‘[Brycen] was still so disabled that the only way that the two of them could have had intercourse was for him to lie flat on his back and for her to do all of the work,’ Caiden told the Royal Commission.
‘It's just so ridiculous as to be absolutely astonishing … It was an absolute, blatant breach of human rights for both of them. And they justified it on specious legal grounds.’
Brycen eventually moved into a group home with the help of the NDIS.
‘The hospital system needs to change to address the person and the outcomes for the person. [It] needs case management across the entire journey that focuses on the person. Not the facility. Not the funding.’
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.