My name is Tammy Milne and I live in Tasmania. I was born with Arthrogrophosis multiplex congenita, which basically means the muscles and bones in my legs, shoulders and throat are weak and malformed. I am 60 years old and wear it as a badge of honour to have survived this long.
I walked for a long time with the aid of 2 long calipers and a walking stick but now I use a wheelchair and mobility scooter. I have had a tracheostomy for 2 years now.
I am a widow. I was married for 33 years and my husband died 3 years ago. We have a lovely bright 24-year-old daughter who is a newly graduated lawyer. I have 2 small fluffy white doggos that are my best friends and I live in a lovely new house in Hobart.
I recently moved to Hobart from the northwest coast of Tassie because I needed more reliable and available services.
Supports for me mean I can go out, I can get out of bed, I can go to the cinema, I can have a shower and I can have a fun, fulfilling and worthwhile life. I have a team of support workers, my OT, my speech therapist, physio, my support coordinator and my plan manager, all of us working together to make sure that my life is one of contribution and involvement in community. This is really important to me. I want to have value as a person with disability and feel valued.
Good supports are so important for me to able to live a full, active and healthy life. I need reliable support workers who will be punctual, professional, friendly and kind, and have a real understanding of disability.
I think of my support workers as an extension of my own body. I say things to them like, “let’s dig that garden bed over and plant some broad beans”; the reality is they do the digging and I do the planning of the garden bed and the supervision. That’s the fun stuff.
They also help me with personal care and all the things I can’t reach or do from my chair. They are like friends; they share the most intimate of details about me.
The longest I have had one support worker is 5 years and we are still together. Staff changes are the nature of supports. Sometimes I wish I could clone the good ones so everyone could have the best support available. I tend to go for young people as they keep me young and I have a young daughter so we all get on well together. We are a team!