Arthritis can be a hurdle for people trying to carry on their work and activities. For some, it’s painful enough to render them unable to carry out the simplest tasks.
Shepparton resident Cherie Greville is a paediatric psychologist who has helped hundreds of clients in the Goulburn Valley. She has struggled with inflammatory arthropathy – meaning ‘multiple chronic arthritis’.
After ending a nine-year contract with a school, she recently started a new job with Australian Community Support Organisation working in clinical services — helping dangerous offenders with disabilities.
While working in her role, she writes reports that are made difficult because of her condition. She has attempted to resolve this by resting her hands under ice for an hour during her lunchtimes, as to attempt to use them again in the afternoon.
“Sometimes I just couldn’t use them, and the pain, it makes you really tired, so some days I’d have to make a choice about how much work I could really get done versus how much pain it was going to cause me,” she said.
A choice no-one should have to make.
Because of her condition, she has not only been unable to concentrate on work, but she has been unable to participate in activities. Activities she used to enjoy such as playing golf, playing guitar and going on bush walks with her dog, Jesse.
As Cherie was about to give up her career, she reached out to the NDIS in hope of coming to a viable solution. The organisation responded and funded her with a program called ‘Dragon’ — a speech-to-text program that reduces the need to use her hands. The NDIS also funded her to help with mobility.
“My NDIS funding paid for a wheelchair and a wheelchair lift to be installed in the back of my car. I’ve been using it for about (a month) and it’s been amazing,” she said.
“Now I’ve got the reserve to do things.”
NDIS funding has also allowed Cherie to get a support worker to help with groceries and housework, so she can focus on work and living pain free.
Receiving much-needed support will enable her to continue her work for years to come, providing support of her own to the Shepparton community.