A vivacious woman who loves to meet new people and learn about the world, Julia spent years working in the hotel industry and for a while lived in Beijing.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, her independent spirit refused to fade. But after a stay in hospital, she found herself admitted to a nursing home where she spent the next four years.
“I was going out of my mind,” she recalls. “I rang Disability Services crying, saying ‘please, remember I’m still here.”
“It was an institutional way of life. ‘You must get up now, you must eat now, you must go to bed now.’ It was an awful setting for a young person. It was like a bad dream that I’ve now woken up from.”
As a resident at WesleyCare Sinnamon Park, built by Youngcare, Julia has a new lease on life. She is often down at the shops and volunteers at Youngcare fundraising events.
“I love it here,” Julia says. “I enjoy spending time in my apartment – it’s homely and comfortable. I don’t feel like I have to escape, like I did in the nursing home.”
“I get up and ride the bike in the morning, then go out for a coffee. I love my coffee!”
