We don’t often get the chance to follow the stories of our patients after discharge, but we know our care and kindness can have lifelong impacts.
Meet Jordan Carter, who is a Ngarrindjeri/Wemba-Wemba man, and a former paediatric patient at Monash Health. “My experience at Monash Health was not your average patient’s experience. I spent about three years in and out of hospitals, doing rehab, physio and surgeries.
“I didn’t actually find out my infection was a rare blood disease until four weeks after I was first admitted. I’d already gone through a bunch of different surgeries and a fair few days of induced coma.”
Jordan awoke from the induced coma unsure if he would be able to walk again, and what normal would mean for him going forward.
As an Aboriginal patient, Jordan also found the experience of staying in hospital isolating. But once he was put in touch with the Aboriginal Hospital Liaison service, he immediately felt more supported.
“They really helped me out with all the personal needs that were outside the scope of the regular healthcare worker. When I was first admitted, I knew nothing about the service, but once I started making the healthcare workers aware that I was Indigenous, they put me in contact with the services.”
Starlight Foundation also provided important support for Jordan.
“I struggled being alone with myself, day-in and day-out for months on end. The Starlight Foundation helped me with simple things like access to entertainment, games and TV shows that helped to break up my day, and made it feel a little less lonely.”
Jordan completed most of his final years of school as a patient at Monash Health. “It was challenging trying to do the majority of my VCE years here at the Children’s Ward. It was difficult finding a place to focus and study while trying to recover.”
The Aboriginal Hospital Liaison team were able to support Jordan with access to resources, grants and special considerations so that he could successfully complete his VCE.
“I ended up going back to school for last couple of months of my year 12 exams,” says Jordan. “I studied for them while I was in hospital and the team here were really great at helping me out, getting some accessibility requirements to do my exams.
“Then I went to university where I continued my physical therapy for the first two years of the degree and now I’m returned to what I consider normal.”
Jordan is now repaying the kindness and support he received as a kid receiving care at Monash Health by raising money for the Starlight Foundation through his coffee business. You can read about his fundraiser here.
Approved by Dan Carter and Sarah Ong