Sarah-Jane, Farris and Vikki
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.
Vikki, who was born overseas and is from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, had two children, Sarah-Jane and Farris. Both had epilepsy and other disabilities and attended at the local hospital regularly.
Several years ago, Vikki and her husband caught the flu. When Sarah-Jane and Farris, still young children, developed fevers that led to seizures, Vikki took them to hospital.
‘The doctor in the emergency was very concerned about [Sarah-Jane’s] blood pressure, because it was extremely low,’ Vikki told the Royal Commission.
Doctors tested both children for influenza but, when their temperatures fell, discharged them before getting the results.
Sarah-Jane, however, didn’t get better. Two days later the hospital still hadn’t sent through her test results, so Vikki took her to the general practitioner. ‘[He spent] most of the time explaining the difference between a cold and the flu,’ Vikki said.
‘He just examined her with the stethoscope and said she's fine, it's just a cold.’
Vikki was exhausted from having the flu herself when, that evening, her daughter developed a dry cough.
‘I held her until about close to about 2 o'clock in the morning … I fell asleep. I fell asleep. Oh God. I woke up … and it was so quiet.’
Sarah-Jane was dead.
The following day the hospital, unaware of Sarah-Jane’s death, called Vikki to tell her Farris had tested positive for influenza A.
‘I asked the doctor, “Can you please tell me about my [Sarah-Jane]” … and he told me she, too, had influenza A.’
Worried Farris might also die, Vikki took him back to the hospital. Doctors gave him an antiviral drug and his condition improved.
Later, Vikki discovered the hospital hadn’t completed a discharge summary for Sarah-Jane, or informed the general practitioner of the positive influenza test.
Vikki believes the hospital did not take her concerns about the health of her children seriously because of her racial background.
‘They don't expect [a woman like me] to be explaining to them about [her children’s disability] … It's not the first time they have neglected my [Sarah-Jane].’
She is reluctant to complain because she doesn’t want to jeopardise Farris’s future medical treatment at the local hospital.
‘I am actually very scared … It's the people, it's their mindset, it's their attitude, and I can't change that.’
Vikki told the Royal Commission she is still waiting for the coroner’s report into Sarah-Jane’s death.
‘I'm still waiting … It is two years and seven months, and I'm still waiting.’
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.