Disabilities shatter life's hopes
When a tired Dave Brett went to the doctor, he thought he had the flu.
Initially he was told to have one month off, but that extended to three months and then his body deregulated to the point there was no going back.
“It started with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and then everything fell apart,” Mr Brett said.
The arches in his feet collapsed and he has bunions. The cartilage in his knees has “gone” but worst of all, he has compression fractures and osteoarthritis in his back.
Mr Brett plummeted from “very well above weekly” earnings to a disability pension supplemented by a carer’s allowance to look after his parents.
His days of being on call and working up to 80 hours a week as a maintenance engineer at Regal Bakeries ended in 1995.
“I took over caring for my Dad and I kept him out of a home up to two weeks before he died – now I’m looking after Mum,” Mr Brett said.
with 120mg doses of morphine to keep his pain at bay, the 45-year-old is tired of feeling worthless and battling depression.
“I get depressed because I’m not working and I’m not able to fulfil what I wanted in life – I was working for good money and it all disappeared.
“I wanted to be married with a family, a house and be comfortable. Instead, most things I thought I’d have are unattainable … and I’ve had to reassess my goals.”
Because he hasn’t worked for so many years, Mr Brett’s self-confidence is shot.
“People can’t see my disabilities, instead they see a young man who’s not working and they can be so horribly cruel.”
Mr Brett was a senior laboratory craftsman for CSIRO and project engineer-cum-trboule shooter for the National Cans in Sydney.
“I’ll do anything,” he pleaded.
Mr Brett figures he can make his mother Helen, sandwiches for lunch twice a week, so he is able to work two four hour shifts from a comfortable chair.
“Apart from the extra money, which we need, I need people contact.
“When it’s just Mum, me and Buster (the dog), it becomes isolating.
“Friends disappear when you don’t have the money to go out any more … they wander off.”
Anyone who can give Mr Brett a job should call Rodney Vagg, a consultant at Personnel West, on 4632 7444.
From the Toowoomba Chronicle: Wednesday July 19, 2006
Read more about Mr Brett, and his successful employment just days after this story
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