I’ve been watching my mum change into a different person since I was fifteen years old. My once kind, gentle and loving mother slowly started becoming cold, unaffectionate and distant. I couldn’t understand why she was so unhappy with me, my dad and my brother all the time. Her mood swings scare me and I found myself not wanting to come home from school every day. I was scared of what she would do or say when I walked through the door. Since I was fifteen years old, my mum has been struggling with a health issue that I can’t talk about here.
It started with little things. She would forget to pick up the takeaway on her way home from work, just moments after she would tell my dad she could do so. She forgot my birthday once and we all chalked it up to the fact that she was busy at work and busy running a family. None of us understood the gravity of the situation or the fact that she’d need an NDIS high-intensity support provider mere months after her symptoms began.
I am now twenty-five and my mum has been in care for ten years. She’s missed so much of my life and although she’s still alive and I’m lucky enough to get to visit her whenever I want, part of me still feels like she’s dead. Physically she’s here, but the mother who loved me and raised me is no longer. She’s been devastated by a disease that is eventually going to kill her and it kills me to watch it happen.
Thank God we were able to find a reputable disability support provider in the Adelaide CBD to look after her. Mum’s disability support provider has pretty much become a part of our family. She knows my mum better than anyone these days and she loves her as much as we do. I’m very grateful that we found a lovely lady to look after my mum.