From hospital to home: Christine’s story

When Christine moved into MS Plus’ supported accommodation at Lidcombe Home after an extended hospital stay late last year, it had a profound impact on her health and wellbeing.

“We knew that some of the things Christine had experienced before she came here were quite traumatic, but since she has been here, we’ve seen she is more motivated to participate in activities and the interests she had in the past are starting to come back alive,” says Lidcombe Home’s Manager Residential & Respite Services Badri Pokhrel.

“Ever since she moved into MS Plus accommodation, she’s had friendly staff around, been able to approach them without any hesitation, and had that sense of security of feeling safe in her home and able to put things wherever she wants in her own apartment.”

Reflecting on how far she’s come since a difficult stay in hospital, Christine, who was diagnosed with MS in 2014, says that leaving hospital and moving to the hotel-style, supported independent living accommodation in Sydney’s inner west has been life-changing.

“I got dehydrated and ended up in hospital only weighing 41kg after a week without food and water. Now I’m 67kg and feeling much better. I was in hospital for five months before I came here,” she says.

“It’s been really good so far, it’s comfortable and the management are great. I’ve just started going to the gym. At hospital I didn’t have hand dexterity, I was struggling to be able to hold a cup to my mouth even. Now I can take my own jumper off,” she says.

Lidcombe Home features modern hotel-style apartments for both respite and long-term accommodation, designed with accessibility in mind. The property adjoins MS Plus’ Lidcombe Wellbeing Centre, providing access to a range of services including physiotherapy, dietetics, continence support and NDIS support coordination and plan management under the same roof.

The transition from hospital to Lidcombe Home was a holistic process involving Christine’s neurologist and family.

“Christine’s sister was responsible for coordinating the transition, she had information from Christine’s neurologist to reach out to MS Plus to explore these options. I met with her dad and sister and we began the conversation. When we met with Chris, she had a good look at the pictures and understood the transition and how we could make it successful,” says Badri.

The central location means it’s also easy for Christine’s family to regularly visit, keeping her connected with her family and community.

“My family has been very good in supporting me and helping me to find this place. I was definitely looking forward to getting out of hospital, so it was a very good day when I first came here,” she says.

Christine has settled in so well that she’s well known for her baking – particularly her famous rocky road.

“I can’t walk past the apartment without having a slice of her baking!” says Badri.

“Christine had experienced a lot of psychological distress prior to coming to Lidcombe Home, but seeing her now with a positive mindset, wanting to try things and do things has been a great outcome for all of us.”