i) Alana's story (10 mins)
Alana
Alana had a serious accident aged 14. It happened after she arrived home on the school bus. She got hit by a car right in front of her house. She was taken by helicopter to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She was in a coma. She spent three very difficult months in hospital. She went home and did a lot of work on rehabilitation. She completed her HSC. Four years after the accident she was studying at TAFE and doing volunteering in aged care. She lives with her parents and sisters.
- Donna, Alana’s mother
- Mikaela, Alana’s sister
- Justine, Alana’s community support worker and service coordinator
- Liz, Alana’s case manager
I guess we thought we’ll get home and everything could just go back to normal. But it didn’t. So, it was a bit of a low down.
And then we started with care which was a huge thing. I was used to being in a hospital where everything was structured ran according to plan, according to time. So, hospital was great for me and Alana.
So, when we came home, everything doesn’t run to plan all the time and things happen - people drop in, kids go out, whatever.
Having a carer in the house really bothered me. They were in my territory. I was losing control over Alana because she was mine three months before that. So, I had a lot of issues with letting carers into the house. Although I knew I needed it to happen and I was grateful for it because I needed to get back to my life as well.
Donna, Alana’s mother
