ALBION’S Joanne and David Macleod don’t celebrate Australia Day any more.
The last time they did, on a dusty, 40-degree afternoon, the holidaying newlyweds downed beer to cool off.
After an ill-fated decision to drive back to camp, Joanne was left clinging to life in the tangled steel of their car.
She flatlined three times as paramedics airlifted her to hospital in Melbourne. While Joanne (pictured) doesn’t remember the crash, her husband, who was in the driver’s seat, will never forget. He’s still rocked by nightmares more than a decade later.
“I was in the ICU [intensive care unit] at The Alfred hospital,’’ Joanne recalled. ‘‘I had broken vertebrae in the neck, a punctured lung and broken ribs down the right side.
‘‘Then there were several months of rehab. David watched me go through it all. He went downhill from there.”
David began to self-medicate with alcohol. He developed bipolar disorder and Joanne became his carer.
“I’ve been OK for the past 12 months now, but there were times I broke down when people would ask, ‘how’s Dave?’ and I couldn’t speak,” she said. “I can only imagine what my husband goes through half the time.”
Joanne, who lives with David and their 10-year-old son, said people struggled to comprehend what they were going through.
“Unless they’re going through something similar, it’s hard to understand,” she said.
Joanne is among hundreds of carers and families affected by mental illness who are finding support through information sessions hosted by Mind Australia in Werribee.
Support worker Grace Hancock said Mind was starting monthly sessions to address a lack of knowledge about the welfare system.
“These sessions are hoped to provide families and carers with the information, knowledge and … empowerment needed to assist in their caring role,’’ Ms Hancock said.
Details: 8102 7900 or email ghancock@mindaustralia.org.au.
