I feel calm for the first time in a long time. I’m finally getting the care that I need – care that it has been clear I’ve needed for a long time. I think everyone knew that where I was living before wasn’t working. As much as I love my family and they love me, I needed support that they just weren’t trained to give me. That wasn’t their fault.
No one expected them to become qualified disability service providers overnight. I certainly didn’t. Especially because I wasn’t born with a disability. I was born completely healthy and then got into a huge accident when I was twenty years old. It didn’t impact my cognitive abilities, which is both a blessing and a curse, instead, it left me paralysed and unable to do anything for myself. It has been extremely hard on my loved ones.
The accident not only ruined my life forever, but in a sense it also ruined theirs. I could tell that they were ready to give up absolutely everything for me. They were going to dedicate their lives to looking after me, which I just couldn’t allow. For the first few months after my accident, I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I didn’t want their help. I couldn’t bear it because they had already given up so much for me.
I remember the day that I told them that I wanted to go into SDA housing in the Adelaide CBD very clearly. At first, they were shocked and then a little offended. Then, after I asked them nicely, they started to actually think about it. It took them a little while to come around to the idea, because they said they felt like they’d be abandoning me, but I assured them that was not the case. I assured them that moving to SDA housing full time was what I needed. It would be what was best for me.