THE federal government has stepped in to help an ill and vulnerable Cooranbong woman who has been living in fear of falling and dying alone because no support agency would help her.
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Dianne Johns (not her real name), 57, lives alone and has a range of health complications, including fatigue and mobility problems, related to type-2 diabetes.
She has fallen 10 times in her rental home since December 21.
Ms Johns was deemed ineligible for assistance under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which considers diabetes to be a medical condition, not a disability.
And government funding cuts and changes to eligibility criteria meant local care providers could offer Ms Johns little.
The federal government’s My Aged Care had initially declined Ms Johns’ request for assistance.
“My Aged Care originally turned me down because I was under 65,” Ms Johns said.
But a woman from My Aged Care contacted Ms Johns this week and said “we’re going to take you on”. The woman then arranged to send an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) to visit Ms Johns at home.
“This has come out of the blue and is such a relief,” a tearful Ms Johns said.
The assistance comes a week after the Lakes Mail reported on Ms Johns’ circumstances.
The ACAT is considering making several changes to Ms Johns’ home to make it safer and better equipped to meet her needs. It has also provided a physiotherapist to help Ms Johns regain leg strength and balance.
Ms Johns uses a walker to get around, but has become increasingly unstable and, as a result, increasingly housebound.
“The ACAT is going to measure to install a ramp to the front door, and a path out to the letterbox,” Ms Johns said.
Showering had become impossible for Ms Johns who had instead been self-administering sponge baths.
The ACAT is investigating making changes to the bathroom, including replacing the shower screen with a curtain, and installing a device to make it easier for Ms Johns to use the toilet.
“And they’re going to install a portable monkey-bar over my bed,” she said.
My Aged Care will seek permission from the property’s owner before making any changes, although the owner will incur no cost for any alterations or additions the ACAT makes to the house.
“And it’s not going to cost me anything, either,” she said. “My Aged Care will cover it all.”
Because of the circulation problems associated with diabetes, the ACAT will send a podiatrist to check Ms Johns’ feet.
“And a physiotherapist came out yesterday to do some strengthening work on my legs so that I’ll have better balance and stop falling,” she said.
She has been given some exercises to perform before the physiotherapist’s next visit.
Ms Johns said she was compelled to tell her story so that other relatively young people would be made aware that society’s safety net might not extend to them.
“There are so many young people that I’m aware of that are a lot worse off than me,” she said. “How many others have been allowed to fall through the cracks?”
Ms Johns said the intervention by the federal government, and the support she had received from friends, family and neighbours, had moved her.
“I cried. It’s just been so overwhelming,” she said.