Terran’s dignified future in high-tech apartment
TERRAN Hassall is living the best life he can, with a new lease on life and one filled with independence and dignity.
Since the Toowoomba man moved into MS Queensland’s first Project Dignity complex in Springfield, he has been able to enjoy what those without multiple sclerosis take for granted.
The little things, such as choosing what to watch on TV, deciding what he wants to have for dinner.
“I love having my own apartment with excellent care and I have made new friends here now,” he said.
“I feel like a person now I have my own Project Dignity 120 apartment at Springfield.
“I am loving having my independence and can live my life how I like.”
Mr Hassall was forced to move away from his family in the Darling Downs when he was diagnosed with MS a decade ago.
The disease stripped the fiercely independent artist of his mobility, and his need for high-quality and supported care became vital.
There was no age-suitable housing in Toowoomba for the then-34-year-old, and there still isn’t.
So he moved to Brisbane and became one of the long-term MS Queensland residents before being the first to move into the Project Dignity complex where he now loves.
His mother, Julia, visits him each week and, since Mr Hassall moved into his own state-of-the-art funded apartment in July this year, she has watched him embrace a new outlook.
“I like being able to visit Terran in his own apartment,” she said.
“It’s more personal than just a room. I like that there are always friendly helpful MS Queensland carers on his floor and he is always smiling when I visit.
“I believe Terran’s quality of life has definitely improved.”
Mr Hassall has made new friends and he now feels at home, so he was unsure if he would move back to Toowoomba when suitable housing became available.
But he backed calls for other people to have more options.
“There should be more of these everywhere so that people can feel like they are real people,” he said.
“It was really disruptive for my family and me when I had to uproot and leave because I needed high-need care.
“To have had a choice to stay in my home town all those years ago would have been priceless.”
For his mother, though, it would be a way to bring the family back together.
“Toowoomba is where his brother and his family life,” she said.
“He would have more visits from family and myself if he lived closer to home in Toowoomba.”