Rae has been Peter’s advocate for over a year now but they have known each other much longer than that. A while back, Peter found himself in a situation that was not good for him at all. 

Rae relates the story…

Peter was a in a boarding house where the care and food were very poor. He was depressed, had become withdrawn and was really fading before my eyes. The lack of proper nutrition was affecting both his overall health and mental capacity. We could barely understand him when he spoke and no-one was helping with his grooming. Peter knew it wasn’t right but didn’t know how to change it. He was definitely on a downwards spiral in virtually all aspects of his life.

After repeated calls to his care agency, I found that his case manager had left and had not been replaced! It was very frustrating. Our ongoing requests to have Peter moved were met with: “We’ve seen worse than that!” 

Finally, persistence paid off and Peter was moved to a modern and far more suitable aged-care facility. Now, he gets good nutritious food, people actually care for him and there are things for him to do that he really enjoys. And regular dental, optical and medical check-ups are really making a difference too. The change has been dramatic! 

Peter has colour in his face, he has put on weight and he loves to tell us about what he has been doing. His speech is louder, clearer and more confident and he keeps saying how happy he is now. He is far more active and just looks so much better. 

                            Peter celebrating his birthday!

Q. Do you have a message for other advocates who may face similar challenges? 

Rae: Leaning on the strength and encouragement of your own support network is so important when the going gets tough. 

Thank you to everyone who helps me while I help Peter - It makes a huge difference to both of us!