Tammy Milne is another recent and valuable addition to the PDA Board.

She lives on the North West Coast of Tasmania.

Living with Arthrogrophosis Multiplex Congenita, she brings lived experience of disability and a strong passion for disability and human rights to the PDA Team.

Having been with the Department of Education Tasmania for 32 years she has many strings to her bow – working as teacher aide, educational interpreter for the Deaf,  Intern Teacher and Librarian. 

Recently resigned, she looks forward to her work with PDA and continuing to be a “fierce warrior” in standing up for and supporting the disabled community.

Welcome to the PDA Team Tammy!

PDA is proud to welcome Melanie Hawkes to the role of Associate Director for Western Australia.

Melanie is a wonderful addition to the PDA Team, with extensive experience in the disability sector and with a professional background working in media and corporate communications.

She is also fluent in Japanese, enjoys socialising with friends and family, attending concerts and events and spending time with her much-loved, retired assistance dog.

It’s a pleasure and honour to have you involved on the PDA Board Melanie. Welcome!

Maggie Coggan from Pro Bono Australia has written a great article about PDA President Liz Reid.

It’s an insightful read about Liz, her story around who she really is and the motivation behind her dedication to ensuring social justice and that everyone is seen and respected.

https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2021/01/fighting-for-fair/

Written by Elle Steele – PDA VIC Director

Boundaries.

It’s a bit of a buzzword isn’t it? 

I remember hearing it from my psych. She said to me “Elle, you have no boundaries. This is why you feel the way you do. Let’s fix that.”

Even though I’d been an athlete for so long, boundaries had never really played a huge part in the lead-up and recovery from training or any major event, or so I thought. If I think back now, I probably was doing my fair share of it, but it all related back to swimming so it was never a holistic approach.

During the 13 years I was on the Australian team, I had colds, my nose was always running, I had dry skin and aches all over from pushing my body to the limit. But now, I’ve learnt to be a LOT more balanced in my ‘pushing’ with daily self-care practices in place so that I can at the very least get up the next day. For me, self-care and boundaries go hand in hand. I want to share some self-care tips with you for the end of year holidays. 

1. Learn to say ‘no’. 
   Yep, I’m starting off with a big f..ing NO. You know why? You are worth more than doing the things you hate. You are worth more than hanging out with people who are toxic. And you are worth more than watching negative shows or anything that makes you feel anxious. The same goes for seeing people over the holiday period that you don’t feel so great around or doing things that make you feel uncomfortable. Just because you’ve always done something, doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it. 
   
   
2. Don’t count your calories.
   Yep, I said it. Do.not.weigh.your.food.you.are.not.a.race.horse. Our bodies change all the time. Don’t hold yourself to something that was yesterday or could be in your future. Enjoy you now. Stop trying to be something else or have a different number on the scales. You’re doing amazing. I used to be 53kgs and I was never happy, I was sick all the time and my mindset was terrible. Now, I know I’m carrying some weight, but my insides, mind, and body are getting healthier every day and the most important thing is I love who I am, in the now, all of it. No amount of food weighing will make up for any lack of self-acceptance. Enjoy the food over the holidays and love yourself enough to eat what makes you feel good. 
   
   
3. How you finish you year of work isn’t how it’s always going to be. Well, 2020 was fun wasn’t it? Remember, if you finished the year slightly ‘less than’ you’d hoped doesn’t mean squat. You’re on an adventure. You haven’t reached your final destination yet. Think 2021 is for creating connections. Creating content. Creating a life that you don’t need a holiday from. This includes having really strong boundaries for yourself in your life all year round. My advice to you is “always follow joy, in all that you do.”
   
   
4. Self-care looks different to everyone.
   There is no right or wrong way to self-care or set boundaries. I was once told that resting my body and watching a movie wasn’t the ‘right’ way to do self-care. I’m sorry, who said it wasn’t? The self-care police? P.S If you’re still hanging with the self-care police, please refer to point 1).
   
   
5. Take time out from all the noise at least once a day.
   Meditation comes in different forms, so you do “you”. Whatever feels best for you and allows you to switch off and breathe, this is the best way for you to meditate. This may evolve over time, but if it doesn’t then that’s also ok. Some days I meditate to silence. Some days I draw. Some nights I light candles, pump ancient drumming music and dance. Some days I swim. Some days I chant. Whatever makes you feel good is what’s best.

Now, go and do what makes you feel good over the holidays.  

Author’s name withheld on request

If someone was to ask me about my understanding of bullying, a few weeks ago I would have reflected on the time I bullied our workshop apprentice whilst the older men around us cheered and berated the poor guy.  Thank you for refusing to put up with my misguided anger Scooter, you were stronger than me at that time.

I may have also reflected on my children’s experience halfway through high school.  They were ostracised from their group of friends due to the boredom of a couple of kids and the belief of their parents that, if my children put up with it, it would resolve itself.

The last place I expected to be bullied though was in an Australian public hospital.

I best include a little information about myself so you can better understand the situation I have found myself in. I am in my early 40s and have been a high-level quadriplegic for the past 20 years. I have a severe pressure wound that has had me restricted to bed for the last eight months or so, 24/7. The chronic pain I have suffered since I got my disability has proven to be one of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome. For the past eight months I have been experiencing bouts of a condition known as autonomic hyper dysreflexia – a potentially life-threatening medical emergency suffered by a small amount of spinal-cord injured people with symptoms that include high blood pressure, pounding headache, flushed face, sweating above the level of injury, goose flesh below the level of injury, nasal stuffiness, nausea, tachycardia and high blood pressure. I also had a soul crushing migraine that would make me wish that I was dead. 

One of the unfortunate facts about autonomic hyper dysreflexia is that it is misunderstood and practitioners do not typically have any knowledge of how to deal with it. For example, every time I was admitted into hospital I had five ward doctors standing around me uncertain as to what to do to relieve the situation. 

It had been decided by my nursing network and a number of health professionals who had been reviewing my wound progression in my home, that I must attend a hospital emergency department due to the high possibility that I may suffer an uncontrollable attack of this condition and die. I had my support worker pack a bag for me and I called an ambulance during the early evening.

As I was waiting to be processed and assigned to an appropriate ward so that I could receive appropriate treatment from a physician with some expertise in my illness, I was approach by an irate doctor swinging her arms around in an aggressive manner, trying her best to intimidate me and make me go home. 

She made it quite clear that I would not be getting any treatment on my wound through the hospital. She continued by asking me what I expected the hospital to do about my situation, to which I replied “I don’t know what you can do for me, I just know something needs to be done because I am not safe at home and I believe the hospital is the only place for me to be where an appropriate plan of action could be made.”

Unfortunately, as I have learnt over a 20 year period dealing with the public hospital system, this sort of response is not uncommon. The chronic health concerns of people with disability are deemed too hard to deal with and this is somehow my fault.

At that point I had to do what is the only course of action available to resist this form of bullying and intimidation: stand my ground. I refused to just go home and asserted my right to receive treatment for a life-threatening injury which eventually resulted in my being admitted to have my condition stabilised and assessed. I still have a way to go and I anticipate further battles to get my needs met.

I understand that hospital emergency departments are stressful places and that the Coronavirus pandemic has only increased the pressure felt by the people who work there. But this does not justify the mistreatment of people with needs that are different to the patients they typically deal with and we must not accept it.