Travis

Travis’s injuries

In 2020, right in the middle of COVID, Travis was involved in a motor vehicle accident. He woke up days later in hospital with a double amputation, brain injury, and multiple broken bones. Travis spent nine days in intensive care, had seven operations, and stayed months in hospital. He described this period as, “a bit of a rollercoaster.”

Travis and NIISQ

NIISQ has funded a range of treatment care and support options for Travis including physiotherapy, psychology, home and car modifications, and prosthetics. Of the initial meeting with NIISQ, Travis described it as “easy”. 

“Basically, I had a meeting with a lady that came through… Hey, I’m this person from NIISQ and they told me they were going to help me with wheelchairs, and home modifications. By the time I went home they’d already checked out the house, measured things up. My wheelchair had already been ordered. Even modifications for my car. Prosthetics. Stuff that you just take for granted and then realise that you’ll need so much. We’re talking like hundreds of thousands of dollars,”

Travis said NIISQ not only helped with the transfer of getting home comfortably but also helped with the little things.

“I didn’t know anything about physiotherapy, I didn’t know anything about psychologists. I had your standard young guy ‘It is what it is’ attitude. ‘Get on with it. I mean there’s no way you can make this better by going and talking to someone,’ which is crazy because I love my psychologist.”

“Next thing you know I’ve got full access to my whole house. I’ve got garden beds which they helped me put in because again it’s like a tonne of soil. It’s the little things, yeah?”

Travis said the most important thing for him was to have someone in the background who can say, “’that’s ok we can modify this” or “we can help with that.”

“NIISQ has been phenomenal. I mean I can’t give them a negative. It’s been something I know that’s going to affect my life for a long time.”

Simon, Travis’s NIISQ support planner for nearly two years said it’s great to see how Travis has utilised the treatment care and support available through NIISQ.

“It’s great to be a part of a State that has a Scheme that supports people in the toughest of times… To work through what they’re going to need to get things going and have a really good standard of living at home.”

“It’s been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had as a worker, to work with Travis.“