Mother and son reunited after rigid aged care rules divided them
An elderly woman and her disabled son are celebrating after they successfully beat a bureaucratic blockage that threatened to split them up for good.
Anne Deans, 81, and her 56-year-old son, Mark, who suffers from Down's syndrome, were hoping to live together in Anne's aged care facility, but the pair were met with countless hurdles when trying to get Mark a room of his own.
Now, Mark's sister Sharon shared the happy news that the mother and son are to be reunited.
"We're very happy today. We've got a great result," Sharon told A Current Affair.
"I'm so grateful that people understood and they listened. That's all I ever wanted through this whole thing, was someone to listen."
The problems began when authorities originally refused Mark's request to move into Anne's aged care facility, with federal government policy saying that aged care is "not appropriate for people under 65".
But Mark's relatives argued that given the life expectancy of people living with Down's syndrome is 60 years, an exception should be made.
A new assessment was done and Mark has been granted a place at the same nursing home as his mother, as Mark's other sister Michelle said, "We got what we wanted. Everything worked out perfectly, the way it's supposed to."
After Anne received the exciting news, she said, "I'm feeling great. He's staying with Mum!"
Sharon and Michelle hope that their experience will assist other families with unique circumstances.
"My advice is to keep pushing," Sharon said. "Only you know your family and you have to be their voice.
"There's a lot of difference out there and a lot of people who are individuals [and] they need to be looked at individually."
Image credits: A Current Affair