Moreton Bay local Madonna O’Brien is living with spina bifida, but she continues to provide care and support in her work as a wildlife carer, getting by and thriving with support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
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Madonna, a retired teacher from Ocean View, has spina bifida – a neural tube defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly.
She has been receiving support from NDIS since 2019. With help from a support worker who assists her to complete her role, she’s able to look after the animals, such as marsupials, possums, gliders, wallabies, and kangaroos. – a passion that started more than 25 years ago.
“My support worker helps me clean out the cages, will pick up the animals for me when I get a call out for a rescue and will take them to the vet for me if I can’t get there,” she said.
Madonna is using a four-wheel-drive wheelchair to enable her to easily get around her rural property. It allows her to access her mailbox up the road without having to walk or drive or even get out on walks to national parks with her husband, like to Girraween, Mount Archer, Mt Mee, and Mary Cairncross.
She has worked all her life and was a teacher for 21 years. She said she didn’t have any help at all because she used to pay for everything herself, until a couple of years ago, when she was invited to apply for NDIS through Carers Queensland’s NDIS Local Area Coordinator.
Kimberley, her Local Area Coordinator, helped her to develop her goals of maintaining her independence and continuing as an active member of her community. LACs are people who work for their partners in the community and they help people with disabilities find and use services and support.
“The NDIS has been an absolute godsend; to not have to pay for everything out of my own pocket now is fantastic,” she said.
About NDIS
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is an Australia-wide scheme that pays for support and services for people with disability. This can include help with daily life, aids and equipment, and help to meet their goals and do the things they want to do.
To be eligible, one has to be under 65 years old, living in Australia, and has a permanent disability or significant disability, meaning it affects the way they live their day-to-day life.
The NDIS is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency, which is part of the Australian Government. To know more about how NDIS works or how to apply, visit their website.
