Chaya and August
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.
Chaya is in her 30s. She started developing symptoms for borderline personality disorder (BPD) about 10 years ago.
Her dad, August, told the Royal Commission it took nearly four years for Chaya to start receiving treatment.
‘With [BPD] you get anxiety and depression, and if you don’t understand what you have … the symptoms of the illness get worse.’
A few years ago, doctors diagnosed August’s wife with cervical cancer.
‘Twenty days after my wife was diagnosed, we had a complete team. A holistic group of people were actually treating her … We were confronted with how quickly this was happening, compared to our daughter’s situation.’
August said the medical system treated his wife’s cancer with more respect than it treated his daughter’s mental illness.
‘Both these illnesses do kill people in Australia. In the case of cervix cancer, the number is 238, I think it is. And in the case of [BPD] … I have a personal belief that it’s far greater.’
August described the empathy that doctors and the community showed during his wife’s cancer treatment as ‘humbling’.
‘Amazing empathy. But if I talk mental health, no empathy.’
August said psychological support was ‘hard-coded’ into his wife’s cancer treatment plan. ‘In my daughter’s case, we have to fight for it.’
Chaya is supported by the NDIS and was pregnant when his wife was being treated for cancer. When doctors admitted Chaya to hospital in her third trimester, the NDIS cut her funding while her plan was being reviewed.
‘We protested and eventually got that corrected about six weeks later. However … during the time she had the birth … she had no support from any of the professionals because all the meetings were actually not being managed.’
August said doctors gave Chaya ‘varying levels of pain medication, including opioids’.
‘What I learned was [the pain medication] directly impacts the rate and effect of her mental health medication, impacting her anxiety and depression. Not one doctor talked about that. Not one doctor pointed out that the effect of those pills [combined with other drugs] can kill you.’
In contrast, ‘every single day’ during his wife’s cancer treatment, hospital staff told August how carefully they were managing her medication.
‘We were given an almanac that tells everybody what’s happening with [her] medication, and the connection between lots of different pills that she was taking to get through the treatment.’
Chaya now has a medical team supporting her, but August is worried the NDIS will cut her funding again.
‘That’s like my wife going through chemo and radiation treatment and right in the middle of that we stop. We just say, “We’re not doing any more radiation treatment anymore. We’re going to stop it.” … The community would react and that’s, I guess, my point. If it was this situation with my daughter, no-one would care.’
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.