Fresh new start for Mario brings family closer

Good luck Mario! All the staff at the Brighton Brain Injury Service wish you all the best with this fabulous opportunity to live with support in the community and be closer to your family on the Gold Coast

After nearly two decades of specialist care following a debilitating brain injury Mario Albutt is now looking forward to living in his new home on the Gold Coast.

Today, thanks to funding through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Mario will move to his own apartment at Bundall.

“I will be closer to my family,” Mario said. “Closer to my sister, dad and uncle. I am looking forward to independent living, where I can have my own shower.”

Mario, wasn’t expected to survive when he suffered an aneurysm in the early 2000’s, but with the support of family and rehabilitation he regained some function.

Mario is wheelchair dependent and requires assistance with his general care needs, and has spent 16 years living at the Jacana Acquire Brain Injury Centre.

Mario said he was looking forward to his daughter staying with him while he settles into his new home.

Once he transfers to his new accommodation he will be living in his own individual unit with support workers visiting him to attend to his care needs and provide access to activities in the community.

Mario said he would miss the staff at the Brighton Brain Injury Service, but was looking forward to going to Grundy’s Entertainment Centre at Surfers Paradise, which he hadn’t been to since he was young.

“I am also looking forward to going shopping,” Mario said.

Mario, is one of a half-a-million Australians with a disability, and is being funded with assistance to living supports, equipment and treatment in the community.

The NDIS will provide about 460,000 Australians under the age of 65 who have a permanent and significant disability with supports they need to live a more ordinary life.

All Australians with disability can now access the NDIS, with the Moreton Bay region going live on the 1 January 2019.

The Brighton Brain Injury Service service, is a specialised service which provides inpatient rehabilitation and community transition services for up to 30 younger adults (under the age of 65 years) with a severe brain injury.

To learn more about the NDIS please visit https://www.ndis.gov.au/news/events/qld or contact a hospital or facility social worker.