Elyna
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.
Elyna came to Australia in the early 2000s.
She had a stroke about five years ago during a medical procedure. She woke up in recovery and was blind.
‘After the initial shock’, Elyna became severely depressed and told nursing staff she wanted to harm herself.
‘It has taken a very long toll on me,’ she told the Royal Commission.
After several months in rehab, Elyna went home. She had no support other than her family.
‘I didn't know what I had to do. I didn't know where I had to go … I didn’t even know how to use my phone to make phone calls.’
Elyna was ‘anxious and nervous’ and found it difficult to leave the house.
‘Taking me shopping was hard. I would cry in the shopping aisle.’
She couldn’t orient herself and kept walking into everything.
‘Everything I would touch would feel horrible to me.’
After a couple of weeks, Elyna received a call from the NDIS asking if she would like to register. Encouraged, she completed the application forms.
But Elyna discovered she wasn’t eligible because she wasn’t an Australian citizen. She thought that two decades of her and her husband working, paying taxes and contributing to the community would count for something.
Elyna couldn’t afford support workers. With her husband needing to work, it fell to her young children to support her.
They had to do all of the chores around the house and learn to give Elyna her medication, some of which was intravenous.
One of the children, who was in secondary school, had to take time off school to take Elyna to her medical appointments.
They had to use public transport to get everywhere.
Someone told Elyna the children could apply for carer’s support but they ‘struggled to find the right paperwork’.
Elyna’s eldest daughter said the family became isolated.
‘When mum lost her sight, it's like we lost sight of the community too. There was not one person there that would help us.’
Eventually someone referred Elyna to Vision Australia.
For a fee, she was able to access occupational therapy, mobility support and day programs.
She learnt to use a white cane, made friends and became more confident.
The family moved cities to be closer to a supportive health service.
The health coordinator recommended some less expensive changes she could make to her home to make it safer. They also helped her access technology to help her manage her diabetes.
Elyna also connected with a psychologist.
Friends donated money to help her buy assistive technology and some other items she needed.
Despite Elyna’s positive experiences, she said the financial, emotional and support cost to her and her family has been huge.
Her daughter told the Royal Commission, ‘It was really hard trying to be strong those other three years.’
Elyna said it would have been a much easier journey with the NDIS.
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.