Michelle Newland

“young people just don’t belong in nursing homes.
It is not the right environment and young people need to be surrounded by people of their own age.”

Michelle’s journey of recovery has been long and arduous – a credit to her hard work and tenacity.  Michelle’s rehabilitation has been greatly enhanced by the fierce love and determination of her family, friends and carers. Michelle has had to relearn everything – the only capacity unaffected by Michelle’s brain injury was her ability to hear. Michelle’s mother Ann articulates the enormity of Michelle’s rehabilitation by pointing out “Michelle has had to relearn everything without the benefit of instinct which babies posses.”

For six years following her acquired brain injury Michelle received her nutrition in a liquid form via a PEG tube inserted directly into her stomach. Only recently has Michelle mastered the art of swallowing to the point that she can again consume food and drink through her mouth.

In addition to battling gruelling physical rehabilitation in the areas of speech, gross and fine motor movement etc, Michelle continues to struggle with both short term memory loss and amnesia.In the years immediately following her brain injury Michelle was frequently unable to recognise those closest to her, including her own parents.

Michelle’s family regard her amnesia as a blessing on many levels, as they recount the time Michelle spent in a nursing home, lying in bed surrounded by people significantly older than her, where visits from friends were not encouraged and the progress Michelle had made in rehabilitation prior to entering the nursing home, slipped dramatically backwards. At this point Ann and Vic knew that whatever it took, they had to bring their daughter home.

Michelle has spent 7 long years “climbing her mountain”…regaining continence, learning to talk, controlling her saliva & learning to swallow, learning to read again, managing to dress herself, learning to walk, swim, and ride a tricycle. Through all this Michelle remains positive and focused. Michelle is rightly very proud of her progress and regards herself as “Blessed.” Ann Newland points out the irony of having pondered the likelihood of her daughter Michelle one day visiting her in a nursing home, never did she imagine it would be the other way around. Michelle’s family fought the system that gave up so quickly. They remain committed and determined to help Michelle improve her quality of life.

Today Michelle continues her rehabilitation, and has established a name for herself in her local community – making greeting and special occasion cards. In addition Michelle spends two days a week volunteering at her local primary school, the same school she attended as a primary student.

Michelle’s selfless determination to put herself and her story forward for the purpose of drawing attention and action to the social injustice of young people being forced to live in nursing homes is a tribute to her generous and altruistic nature.

In Michelle’s words, “young people just don’t belong in nursing homes, it is not the right environment and young people need to be surrounded by people of their own age.”