NDIS is a game-changer for former sportsman
❝ The NDIS has helped me realise that it’s time for me to have a better life. — Wayne Capper, NDIS participant
LIFE has thrown more than its fair share of curve balls Wayne Capper’s way during his lifetime.
The former Balmain Tigers junior player has experienced mental illness, physical disability, homelessness and family breakdown — he knows better than most the reality of pain, depression, loneliness and hopelessness.
But don’t go feeling sorry for Wayne — he neither seeks nor wants anyone’s pity.
And in fact, admire this man’s incredible resilience and positivity in the face of hardship, and feel happy that thanks to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Wayne will have a much rosier future.
“The NDIS has helped me realise that it’s time for me to have a better life,” he said.
“I want to use those supports which have now been put in place for me to try to achieve something, and make my children proud of me.
“I feel like I can now look forward to the future instead of feeling as though I’ve always got to fight my way through.”
Wayne has battled bi-polar disorder for nearly 30 years, and also has spinal stenosis as a result of his football playing years as well as diabetes and partial blindness.
He spent a number of years as an inpatient at Baillie Henderson hospital.
“I feel as though I got better there —the socialising and the routine were an important part of recovery,” he said.
Wayne has lived independently for the past seven years.
The NDIS package he received gives him support for social activities and daily living, and even allows for him to build links with his Indigenous heritage.
As well as a team of support workers, Wayne is also supported by Pam, a Local Area Co-ordinator at the Toowoomba NDIS Carers Queensland office, with whom he has established a strong relationship.
“For the first time, I feel as though I have people on my side,” Wayne said.
“I feel now as though I’m not nothing anymore — I’m actually worthwhile to someone in this world.
“It’s that feeling that makes me realise that the NDIS is money well spent, because you simply can’t put a price on changing people’s lives for the better.”
One particular aspect of the NDIS that excites Wayne more than any other is the opportunities it will create for himself and others to re-enter the workforce.
As a former greyhound racer and caller as well as a columnist for newspapers and radio commentator, he is keen to communicate the good news about the NDIS to the biggest audience possible.
“The NDIS is a winner in my mind, and if I can help to spread that word then one little seed can grow like a grapevine,” Wayne said.
“My goals are unchanged: I want to build my capacity in order to find work opportunities, and I want to get well enough to one day visit my children who live down south.
“So it would be great if I could help others in some sort of peer support role, and maybe do some public speaking to share my story.
“If I could give just one message to other people thinking about joining the NDIS, it’s this: it costs nothing to take a chance on this system, and I can guarantee you that it’s a chance worth taking.”