Woman's major Centrelink blow after losing driver's licence at 26
Brooke was enjoying a drink with her dad at a pub in remote Victoria when she suddenly dropped to the ground and started convulsing.
Kind-hearted Aussies are rallying around a local supermarket worker who lost her driver’s licence at the tender age of 26 following a traumatic and life-changing medical episode.
Brooke was enjoying a drink with her dad at a pub in remote eastern Victoria on Halloween after recovering from a Covid infection when she suddenly felt a wave of vertigo wash over her.
“I said to my dad, ‘I don’t feel good’,” the young TAFE student told Yahoo News Australia this week. Five seconds later she was convulsing on the floor, suffering from status epilepticus — a series of prolonged seizures in quick succession with little recovery time in between.
“The first one went for 10 minutes and I didn’t come to properly,” Brooke said. “Then I could speak a little bit, but then I went back into another seizure for another 10 minutes, and then the ambulance arrived.
“I was able to respond to them but I was pretty hysterical because I was petrified of going back to hospital and having to go into a coma again.”
In 2021, just three days after she was first diagnosed with epilepsy, the now 26-year-old suffered her first status episode, leaving her in the ICU for almost a month. Brooke is now battling her way through another long recovery, trying new medications to help ease the electrical misfires in her brain.
Aussie loses licence after life-changing epileptic seizure
But as she continues to heal, the supermarket employee is facing another hurdle.
“I’ve lost my licence again because I obviously can’t drive with the risk of me having an accident or having a seizure and hurting someone else, just unfortunately, there’s no public transport available where I live,” Brooke told Yahoo, noting it took her six months of scans to get her licence back the first time.
Wanting to maintain her independence and provide for herself, the student is continuing to work but is now forced to fork out $50 for a taxi each way, eating up most of the money she earns.
While she is physically able to catch public transport, it’s not that simple in rural Australia. “The nearest bus stop is a 10 minute drive away, or a two-hour walk,” she said.
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Young woman cops Centrelink blow after losing licence
Hoping to get some help, Brooke said she applied for a mobility allowance through Centrelink but was rejected because epilepsy is considered to be a chronic illness and not a disability.
She said she was told she couldn’t access the funds because she is capable of standing and climbing stairs without assistance, but may be able to reapply as her seizures can cause her to be unsteady on her feet.
“This has left me in a very difficult situation — especially as I am unable to always rely on family members to drive me, and there is no Uber service where I live. I am feeling the burden of asking those I love to drive me around already as I am aware of the cost of fuel and cost of living,” she wrote in a GoFundMe she created so she can work over the Christmas period.
Social Services department explains mobility allowance
A Department of Social Services spokesperson told Yahoo News mobility allowance is “designed to assist people with disability, illness or injury, with transport costs, who are unable to use public transport without substantial assistance, and are required to travel in order to undertake approved activities”.
“It is not only for people with a defined disability, people with chronic illness may also be eligible,” they said. “To be eligible, an income support recipient claiming mobility allowance must provide a medical report from their doctor confirming they cannot use public transport without substantial help.”
Brooke told Yahoo this holiday season she simply hopes to help provide for her family and buy them presents for Christmas. Her voice shaking with emotion, the 26-year-old said she was touched by her community’s overwhelming response to her plea.
“The generosity of people has been made amazing. So many of my friends from work want to see me go to work… customers have even donated.”
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