Jim, the eldest of four children grew up in Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast.
Tragically, in his early 30s, a car accident left Jim in a coma for three months. Despite six months of intensive care, he suffered a stroke and the loss of one arm and one leg. Today, at the age of 65, Jim uses a walker or a wheelchair to get around and often has trouble remembering things.
His youngest sister Karen, who recently became Jim’s legal guardian, thinks the world of him and paints a picture of a proud and capable man who gets satisfaction from the smaller things in life.
“My priority for Jim in recent years is to get to the right living arrangements in place for him. He has been living in a large boarding house in Ipswich, which caters for 30-40 people at one time,” said Karen.
“The environment there is quite structured and, due to the high resident to staff ratio, Jim doesn’t have the opportunity to be involved in daily tasks like making his bed and preparing meals. With support, Jim is able to do these things himself – in fact he enjoys doing these things.
“When Jim was approved for NDIS funding at the beginning of last year, I set out to find a more suitable living arrangement for him. I went to quite a few service providers and hit many dead ends.
“Then, I was referred to Centacare and things have moved at lightning speed.
“The team at Centacare were very efficient. They asked us lots of questions about Jim’s goals and how he wanted to live and they kept us informed throughout the process.
“Centacare found Jim a Supported Independent Living house at Macgregor, which is perfect because I live and work in Brisbane and wanted to be closer to him.
“Jim will share the house with two other men who have similar needs to him. A Centacare support worker (which is included as part of his NDIS plan) will provide him with personalised care and support, tailored to his individual needs.
“For Jim, this means he will be given the choice to contribute to his own day-to-day care and live as independently as possible. He can make his own bed, assist with meal preparation and be part of household routines. These things give Jim an enormous amount of satisfaction and a sense of purpose, which contributes to his overall confidence.
“His support worker has training in supporting people with dementia so, as Jim ages and his short-term memory worsens, I feel a huge sense of comfort and relief knowing that he’ll be living in a home-like environment and getting high quality care, that’s right for him.”
Find out more about our Supported Independent Living options.