General News
8 August, 2024
Support workers close to home
A Birchip family have shared their story to shed light on the challenges they have faced raising a daughter with Down Syndrome in a small town.
Anne and John Page said they have met the obvious difficulties in attending regular appointments and the lack of therapy in their town of approximately 800 people head on.
But finding support and respite care from someone they could trust, someone who would form a genuine connection with their daughter, was especially challenging.
Joanne, 45, is the couple's oldest child and lives at home with her parents.
Mr and Mrs Page said they didn’t want strangers coming into their home, so finding someone who understood their daughter, embraced her interests, and felt like an extension of the family was of critical importance.
They found what they were looking for when Wendy moved to town 15 years ago.
She met Jo at the local library where Jo volunteers.
“Wendy worked at the post office, a very everyday spot, so we got to know her,” Mrs Page said.
“Whenever we went into the post office, Wendy took the time to engage with Jo.
“Jo just loved going in to see her for a chat”
After noticing the connection between Wendy and Jo, Mrs Page asked Wendy if she would be interested in being employed by the family to be one of Jo’s support workers.
She said yes without hesitation, and has now been with the family for over three years.
“Over the years she has become more confident, and grown into a really amazing person,” Wendy said.
“We share a lot of feelings, and if I need to step in and help her anywhere I do that, but otherwise it’s just two friends hanging out, doing what we do, which is fun.”
Living an hour away from the nearest large town, Mrs Page said she had to get creative when seeking support and has engaged Carer Solutions - an organisation which enables people to directly employ disability support workers like Wendy from their community.
“We have lunch together, go get a movie out,” said Jo.
“Me love it.”
Through Carer Solutions, Jo has been able to access speech therapy via FaceTime, and met another of her support workers, Nicki, who lives over two hours away.
The family travels to see Nicki and while Mr and Mrs Page get a chance to relax, Jo spends the days painting and going out with Nicki to cafes and the movies.
The Pages also travel to Queensland every year, so Mrs Page is now looking to employ a seasonal support worker in Queensland who can take Jo out to explore the area she and her husband enjoy some much-needed downtime.
"We’re ageing - we’re 73,” said Mr Page.
“We have to think that we’re not going to be here forever, and we’ve got to try and plan things for Jo and rely on other people to take over where we leave off.”