Michelle Newland wants young people out of nursing homes.72709 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By Laura Wakely
PUBLIC speaking is a nerve-wracking thing at the best of times.
Addressing a crowded room when you have short-term memory loss and difficulties with speech could seem like too tough a challenge.
But St Albans resident Michelle Newland takes it in her stride.
An accomplished public speaker and ambassador for a campaign to remove young people from nursing homes, who would have guessed that this 28-year-old was once told she’d never be able to speak or eat again.
Michelle suffered a severe asthma attack which left her with an acquired brain injury.
She needed around the clock care and had to re-learn how to speak, eat and even swallow.
But what she remembers most from that time is an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
Not because of her condition, but because she was a 19-year-old living in a nursing home.
Michelle’s friends stopped visiting because they were told they were “too loud”, activities were limited and her rehabilitation deteriorated.
“I spent 20 hours a day in bed,” Michelle said.
“I felt unmotivated because everyone around me was elderly.”
Michelle is one of the ambassadors of the Building Better Lives campaign because she wants to “change the system” and create alternative care for young people.
Now living with her parents, Michelle said she was more connected to her family, friends and community.
Her 19-year-old goal to become a teacher is over, but that doesn’t mean Michelle has given up.
She works as a volunteer teachers’ aide at a local primary school and has even created a small business by making and selling her own greeting cards, which also helps strengthen her fine motor skills.
On top of that, she’s a popular public speaker.
Not bad for someone who was expected to be in a “vegetative state” for the rest of her life.
And the journey’s not over yet – Michelle is still working on ways to extend her independence and will continue to campaign against young people being put in nursing homes.
She’s a woman who lives by the message she delivers through her public speaking – “don’t give up”.
To find out more about the Building Better Lives campaign visit www.buildingbetterlives.org.au
