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Living life her way: Helen’s story
This World Cerebral Palsy Day, we’re celebrating Helen, a much-loved...
Jodi Palasin
Rocky Bay customer Jodi loves “anything loud and proud” when it comes to music. Despite being largely non-verbal, Jodi’s mum, Jill, says that she likes to sing along with everything, “as long as it’s noisy!”
Jodi is one of our much-loved Rocky Bay respite regulars. She began using our services eighteen months ago and has since become a popular member of our wonderful community, and a regular of our famous “Girls Weekends,” with an all-female staff line-up and numerous shared activities.
Like many families, finding the right respite support hasn’t always been easy, with Jill describing previous respite experiences as ‘atrocious’, which unsurprisingly led to the family being wary of trying other providers.
Jill was introduced to Rocky Bay through using our community services, where Jodi enjoys days out taking part in fun and engaging activities with other Rocky Bay customers. Having already formed a positive opinion of Rocky Bay, she was open to the idea of respite.
The story continues...
The transition required careful planning and communication – something Jill credits as key.
“We had to set up all the plans, her mobility plans, and we met with Amanda (Rocky Bay Team Leader) and had a long conversation about her likes, dislikes, what she does, what she doesn’t do.”
At Rocky Bay, respite is designed to feel like home – with flexibility, familiarity and opportunity. When Jodi comes to stay, she is given the same room, sees the same team members and other regular respite friends – some of whom she knows from community activities.
Jill said that she’s happy Jodi has settled in so easily, and is connecting with others.
“She’s made a lot of friends quickly,” explained Jill. “I don’t normally like to go away when it’s her birthday, but recently they had a party for her – we’ve been away once before on her birthday and it was awful. But this time it was fine, I knew she would be okay, it helped that we were sent photos and yeah, it was lovely. I thought, ‘she’s had a good day’. She probably had a better one than what she had at home!”
Over time, consistency has built familiarity – for both Jodi and her family. Equipment was tailored, routines established and trust formed.
Jodi now goes to respite every three weeks, sometimes for the weekend (especially if it’s girls weekend!). And she recently had a longer stay, meaning Jill and her husband Gordon enjoyed a trip to France and Spain!
“We did three weeks. It went really well,” explained Jill. “There were no issues. And I felt quite comfortable leaving her because she’s happy, which makes a huge difference.”
With confidence building over time, so are the opportunities for Jodie and her family. The biggest impact, Gordon said, is “being able to do normal things”. “People say, why don’t you come and visit us?” And we’re like, well, how can we? You just can’t drop everything.”
Jill explained how previously they couldn’t just randomly decide to go somewhere, they had to plan everything. Visiting friends wasn’t as simple as walking out of the door.
Although they have time together when Jodi is out with the Community team, Jill explains that they’re always clock watching.
“Jodi goes at 8.30am and she’s home at 3pm/3.30pm, but then you’re always time watching. Normally we’re very regimented. We’re on Jodi’s schedule. Because you’re working around medication and everything. Toilet, medication, bedtime…”
How we helped
Importantly, respite has strengthened their Jill and Gordon’s role not only as caregivers, but as parents and grandparents. Jill explains:
“That’s the struggle too, when you’re a parent of someone with a disability, but trying to be a grandparent as well. It was a classic example last Thursday when we picked up our grandsons and brought them home for afternoon tea. And they said ‘Oh, where’s Aunt Jodi?’ And we sort of said, ‘Oh, she’s gone on her holiday weekend.’ And then we thought, okay, what are we going to do now? We could do something with the boys. We can take them to the park or go and watch them ride their bikes or something. And that’s the difference, you know, just to have one weekend to do that every now and again, which is nice.”
Respite isn’t just about time away – it’s about building a sustainable future. For Jill and her husband, it’s a way to make sure Jodi is prepared, supported and confident as everyone grows older.
Eventually, when everyone is ready, supported accommodation might become a reality, meaning Jodie will have a permanent home where she can be supported to live more independently.
“We’re being realistic,” said Jill. “We’re not ready for it yet. But we want to build to it. So we’ve built it into a plan. Jodie knows what’s going on and we’ll move slowly.”
Jill encourages others to take that first step, even when it feels difficult:
“My advice to people would be to try and get into it as soon as they can. Even just for short times. Start slowly. Take your time. It is worth it, for peace of mind, knowing that everything’s getting covered.”
Jodi and her families experience show what’s possible when respite is done right: consistency, communication, care and a genuine understanding of a person’s needs.
Respite has helped her build independence and happiness in new environments – while giving her family the freedom and confidence to step forward, knowing she is safe, supported and thriving.
A few words
“Now I don’t even have to think about it. She looks forward to coming and is happy”
- Jill Palasin, Jodi's mum
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