The heartbreaking life story of a disabled man who has been rejected by the NDIS to the shock and anger of millions of Australians has been revealed for the first time.
John G, 36, told Daily Mail Australia how he was a hard-working civil engineer on Sydney’s biggest rail project before he became a ‘shaking wreck’.
John, who can only walk with crutches due to a major neurological disorder and has been waiting for NDIS assistance for the past four years, apologised for the mess inside his home at Ryde in Sydney’s north-west.
John said he can barely walk, let alone clean up, and the pile of takeaway boxes in his lounge are because of his inability to drive or shop for food.
‘It’s embarrassing… I used to be a neat freak,’ John said.
‘I loved working hard and taking pride in my appearance. I had a partner who I expected to marry and have kids with.
‘Now I can’t go out and even socialise because I look so bad, and because I’m a danger with these involuntary movements. I lost everything, but I’d still like to get a job if I can.’
John, whose plight became public after gardener Nathan Stafford mowed his overgrown lawn free of charge, is the eldest of three children to Italian-Greek parents.
NDIS applicant John told how he had been a hard-working, proud civil engineer on Sydney ‘s biggest project before he became a self-confessed ‘shaking wreck’.
John (black and white shirt) pictured as a young man at his grandmother’s birthday, had a fiancée, a great job and was physically fit before the neurological disorder took over him
John G with Good Samaritan tradie Nathan Stafford, who cleared up the Ryde yard and championed the 36-year-old neurological disorder sufferer’s bid to be accepted on the NDIS
He lost his mother ‘quite young’ and then last year, his father George – a well-known ‘bit of a knockabout’ rugby league physiotherapist died aged 70.
As a young man, John practised Taekwondo and played as a rugby league hooker and centre in high school at Ryde Secondary College.
‘I used to love the game,’ he said.
‘I miss being physical.’
After school, John studied psychology and civil engineering at TAFE, and ‘gained enough tickets’ to be hired for the then fledgling Sydney Metro, Australia’s biggest public transport project.
John said he worked ‘hands on’ building the massive tunnel.
‘I was a proper tradesman, operating gantry cranes, as dogman, on rigging, on elevated high platform work.’
‘I was a very key player in that project. I had 30 blokes under me and worked 14 to 15 hours a day,’ he said, with a sense of achievement in his voice.
‘I loved my job. I miss it so much.’
Then, five years ago, John fell sick – first with non-epileptic seizures then ‘a lot of falls’ and feelings of paralysis.
‘I had the world at my feet, I was doing really, really well then (the disease) came like an onslaught – yeah, a freight train,’ he said.
‘I was big brother to my 21-year-old brother and my sister who’s 17, but now I’m sick and they have their own lives to live.
‘It’s got worse since Dad passed.’
John said his house was a jumble of dirty dishes and takeaway food boxes because he couldn’t physically clean up and the former ‘neat freak’ said he was embarrassed by his home’s condition
Despite a promise from NDIS Minister Bill Shorten on Wednesday in response to inquiries on John’s behalf, he said he is still waiting for help to clean up his house
John said he can no longer take public transport or go to the shops because of his involuntary movements and risk of falling over.
‘I used to have enough energy to eat this house for breakfast, now I can’t even get up to answer the door,’ he said.
‘I’ve started really isolating because I look like this. I used to be quite a good dresser. I liked to dress smartly and socialise, but I understand that it’s sometimes not nice for people to see me.’
John produced his doctor’s letter, written for the NDIS, which says he suffers from Major Neurological Disorder and from a depressive condition.
The letter states that John ‘has severe movement disorder which restricts his mobility’ and the death of his father left him ‘even more vulnerable’.
The doctor also stated that John’s conditions ‘should be considered permanent and maximally treated’.
John said he is on a ‘heap of medication’, with at least five different prescriptions mentioned, along with ‘Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation’, which he said doesn’t help his condition.
John (left) when he was making his way, working on the Sydney Metro project before the tragic deteriorating of his health (right) from a neurological disorder
To qualify as an NDIS recipient, a person must have ‘a disability caused by a permanent impairment’.
Neither Major Neurological Disorder, nor John’s other possible diagnosis, Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) appear among the dizzyingly long list of medical conditions on the NDIS qualifier inventory.
‘It’s just got worse, really really worse, it’s flickery if you now what I mean and I have a lot of difficulty doing things for myself,’ John said.
‘I can’t keep on living like this. This is the worst condition the house has been in. The floor needs to be cleaned, it’s turning into a fire hazard.’
His doctor’s letter states that John ‘has been unable to work since 2019’ because of his diagnosed conditions, but that doesn’t stop him hoping to find employment.
He does Sudoku and other puzzles daily ‘to keep my brain alive’, as well as 5,000-piece jigsaws which he hopes to sell.
John had his own personal insight into disability before he fell ill, working for Vinnies Vans and the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross, and says he couldn’t even do that voluntary work now.
‘It just s**ts me to tears because I’m a high-risk falls person.
‘I might twitch and hurt somebody. If I hold on to a cup of coffee, the bloke next to me might wear it.’
Minister Bill Shorten did respond on Wednesday to Daily Mail Australia’s questions about John’s care, but John said he’d had previous reassurances and had ‘been waiting long enough’
John, who doesn’t like taking pills, said he was forced to take ‘an onslaught’ of medication just to try to keep his condition under control, but that there was no reversing it
Gardener Nathan Stafford cuts John’s grass in one of many videos the online personality has posted of the disabled Ryde resident’s plight while he waits for NDIS approval
After Daily Mail Australia sought responses from the NDIS as to why John’s application was rejected, Minister Bill Shorten’s office responded.
‘Our office is working quickly with the NDIS to make sure John has the right care supports,’ Mr Shorten’s spokesperson said.
‘I’ve been speaking with John and he’s grateful for this support, and welcomes any help with open arms.’
John responded politely that he’d had previous reassurances of help over the last few years.
‘I’ve been waiting long enough. I hope it actually happens.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk