Peer Support Clients Stories

• Georgina Fiorentino
• Pheng Ng
• Peter van Benthem
  

Georgina Fiorentino

Enjoys family, travel and work as an accountant
A busy, active life with T7/10 paraplegia
A client of AQA Peer Support

Georgina sustained a complete spinal cord injury in Nov 2003 after a major blood clot developed within her spinal cord between sections T7 and T10.  Georgina has a long history of SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), with blood clotting being one of the many symptoms of her condition. After spending 2 weeks at the Melbourne Private Hospital , Georgina was transferred to the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Kew to start her rehabilitation program which was to last 4 months.

Acquiring a spinal cord injury at T7 and T10 meant that Georgina would be a paraplegic and she would need a wheelchair for mobility. Georgina was married not long before her injury and she would now need the support of her husband, family and friends to face the challenges of life with a disability.

An AQA Peer Support officer met with Georgina and her family early in her rehabilitation at Royal Talbot to offer support. They were able to provide information to Georgina and her family about the many options available to people who use wheelchairs for mobility. This information included community access, lifestyle/recreation and vocation to name a few.

The AQA Peer Support team were in regular contact with Georgina either in person or by phone. Their own personal experience of spinal cord injury and their encouragement and motivation gave Georgina insight into how she could re-enter the community after her rehabilitation.

“The peer support team gave me the confidence I needed at a time when I thought my world was over.”

Georgina had specific concerns and questions relating to "women’s" issues. An important part of AQA’s Peer Support program is being able to ‘tailor’ the service to meet the needs of the individual. Georgina was linked up with a female paraplegic who was able to answer many of her questions. The positive support of the AQA Peer Support Team has enabled Georgina to confidently meet the many challenges and obstacles ahead. 

“The peer support team was instrumental in the process of re-gaining my confidence and learning to live life to the fullest.”

Georgina loves to travel and would like to explore somewhere different each year with her husband.  Georgina also wants to maintain her health through regular exercise and healthy eating.  She has returned to her work as an accountant and enjoys being busy with her work, however she makes sure she has time to enjoy life and have lots of fun!

Georgina has worked hard to become accustomed to her new life and with the support of her husband, family and friends, she aspires to continue a happy and healthy life.

Pheng Ng

”With the support of AQA, I was able to gain valuable information and meet good role models, become motivated to manage my life better and contemplate the future even though it was going to be a long and hard road.”

Enjoys community involvement with C4/5 quadriplegia
A client of AQA Peer Support

Pheng was involved in a motor vehicle accident News Years Day 2002. The severity of her injury was not fully understood until, after being discharged from the Emergency Ward and sent home, Pheng’s condition rapidly deteriorated resulting in spinal cord injury (SCI). Her condition is diagnosed as a C4/5 or ‘highly dependent quadriplegic’. Her ‘highly dependent quadriplegic’ state means that Pheng needs life-time support of workers or others for everyday living.

Pheng’s story is one of hope, thanks in no small way to the many medical and associated professionals as well as the support and guidance from the AQA Info rmation /Peer Support team.

After spending an initial period in hospital, Pheng spent another twelve months at Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Unit in Kew which is specially designed for spinal cord patient rehabilitation. Here Pheng started to learn the long process of maintaining and managing her lifestyle as a ‘quad’. The severity of her condition requires her to use an electric wheelchair and a ventilator via a permanent tracheotomy at night to help her breath while sleeping.

Spinal cord rehabilitation is very tough, both mentally and physically. The future for Pheng was looking bleak and overwhelming – she could not contemplate returning to nursing and she didn’t have an accessible place to live, compounded by no family for support as they live overseas.

This is where AQA Info rmation /Peer Support team members came into Pheng’s life. The weekly visits by the team provided a positive opportunity to make contact with people who have faced quadriplegia and come through it as positive role models. During the year of rehabilitation the AQA team provided support and information that had depth and understanding of what she was going through. They demonstrated through their own actions that ‘quads’ can work, play sport, have relationships, travel, and play meaningful roles in their communities.

During her rehabilitation Pheng had many questions that needed to be answered; answers that are more meaningful when delivered by someone prepared to share their own stories and experiences. With the support of AQA, Pheng was able to gain valuable information and meet good role models, become motivated to manage her life better and contemplate the future even though it was going to be a long and hard road.

Pheng now has many goals in her sites and is looking towards the future very positively. She is considering living independently with a well planned and supportive team and ‘moving on’ from the nursing home environment. Pheng has hopes to travel, is keen to find voluntary work, to maintain her wellbeing through exercise and ensuring she takes the best possible care of herself. She is also keen to taste ‘freedom’ - by sourcing a specifically modified vehicle for transport to enable her to go where she wants, when she wants.

With AQA’s encouragement, Pheng has also sought advice in regard to insurance compensation with positive outcomes.

Peter van Benthem

“The team at AQA showed me through personal example, how quadriplegics can work, play sports, be good partners and fathers and play an active role in their communities.”

Enjoys family, friends and work with C4/5 quadriplegia
AQA Information/Peer Support Officer

Peter had a motorbike accident in late 1999. With an estimated impact speed of 130kms, Peter was airlifted to Alfred Hospital Trauma Ward where he fought for his life. The motorcycle accident proved ‘life altering’ for Peter who is now rebuilding his life as a “high needs” or, in medical terms, a C 4/5 Quadriplegic.

Peter was a young man at the time of his injury with a young family, a wife and five week-old son. Peter was injured on an unregistered motorbike and on private property leaving him without compensation to support him and his family over the long road ahead.

In hospital Peter’s broken neck was fused across the C 4/5/6 level of the spine. After spending a week in Alfred Hospital ’s ICU, Peter was moved to the Austin Hospital ’s Spinal Ward. Here he spent seven weeks getting medically stable, before commencing a long rehabilitation program at Royal Talbot in Kew, which involved an additional eight months.

Embarking on a rehabilitation program after suffering a serious spinal cord injury is one of the biggest challenges an individual is likely to face. Peter’s future was overwhelming and looking ‘bleak’ to say the least. He faced a future of never being able to walk again and having very limited arm movement and was considered 98% disabled by a medical board. Peter’s emotional well-being was affected through not being able to return to work as an electrician, not being able to provide for his family, not having any insurance or cover and not having an accessible home.

Like so many people in this situation, Peter needed specialised support. AQA regularly visited Peter and his family and chatted with them on a weekly basis. AQA’s Peer Support Team were people just like him; they were people who had moved on after a serious spinal cord injury, who could offer support to newly injured individuals going through rehabilitation. AQA’s Peer Support Team could understand and relate to Peter’s situation and provided him with information and important life skills opportunities to learn about life as a quadriplegic. The team at AQA also showed Peter, through personal example, how quadriplegics can work, play sports, be good partners and fathers and play an active role in their communities.

Peter's confidence and outlook as a quadriplegic grew to a point where he could look towards the future more positively. AQA supported Peter with work at their office as a telephone receptionist. At AQA Peter was provided with training in computer skills so he could broaden his career options. It wasn’t long before AQA offered Peter the opportunity to become a Disability Info rmation Officer. Now Peter is part of AQA’s Info rmation /Peer Support Team and an integral member of the committee that organises Life Skills sessions for newly spinal cord injured individuals who are undergoing rehabilitation at Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. He also makes weekly visits to Royal Talbot, supporting individuals by providing essential information, practical assistance, and perhaps also inspiration, as they progress through their rehabilitation.