Children's Stories

My name’s Jess. 

My brother got hurt one day when all my family had gone water skiing about 5 months ago. He was hurt really bad and he had to stay in hospital a long time.

Mum and dad didn’t tell me and my sister much when he was hurt. They just kept saying he’d be alright soon. Me and my sister didn’t get to see him much when he was in hospital because we live out of town and it was just easier for mum to visit him on her way home from work.

That made me feel a bit left out, and sometimes I’d hear things off my Nan that mum and dad hadn’t told me and that’d make me feel really angry. It was pretty hard to think about as well. I used to feel so scared I’d just make myself not think about it and pretend nothing had happened.

My brother’s home now. He’s changed a lot to what he was before. Sometimes he starts laughing and can’t stop, and he forgets things. The worst thing is that we fight lots now. He used to go out with his friends all the time but now he stays home a lot. When I have friends over he can be a bit embarrassing.

I’m Terry and my sister was hurt when she was trying to cross the road on her way home from Uni. When she was hurt I just couldn’t believe it had happened. My sister went to this rehab place and one of the people there talked to me about what had happened to her. I asked her all these questions I’d been thinking about—stuff I didn’t want to ask mum and dad because it was just too hard to talk to them and I wasn’t sure they’d tell me the truth.

One annoying thing that happened was that everyone used to ring our place to find out how my sister was going. I used to get really sick of having to repeat the same stuff over and over again and sometimes I’d even make stuff up cause I didn’t know the answer to their questions.

For a while after my sister was hurt everything my family did revolved around her, visiting her, doing things for her and helping her. But things are getting better now. My sister had to stop Uni because she has trouble reading now. Now she goes to this place during the day now and helps mum and dad with their business and at home.

I’m Kate and my mum got hurt in a car accident on the way to work about 7 months ago.

Because my mum and dad are divorced when my mum was hurt my sisters and I had to go and stay with our nan and pop for about two months. That was hard because they live a bit away from us so it was really hard to see any of our friends after school or on the weekends.

It’s been hard since mum came home because she needs lots of help. Even though my nan comes over, and there’s this lady comes out, I have to do a lot more at home than I used to. Like I have to do all the clothes washing and ironing because mum gets really dizzy.

My sisters don’t have to do as much because they are younger—and that makes me angry sometimes.

Mum can’t drive now so we have to catch the bus or taxis everywhere. So we don’t get to go out much. Anyway we’re getting through it. When I look at my friends I think it’s made me grow up a lot more than them.

I’m Bradley and my dad had a stroke about three months ago just after Christmas. I knew something was up because when I got home from school my Aunty was waiting for me and she is never at our place. Anyway she took us up to the hospital and mum told us about what had happened. I didn’t even know what a stroke was but mum told us it meant dad had a bleed inside his brain.

My dad had to stay in hospital a long time and then he had to go and stay at this rehabilitation place that was a bit like a home. He’s still there now and we go and visit him after school and he comes home on weekends. My dad can’t talk very good now and he has trouble walking. Sometimes I feel really strange when I’m with him because even though he looks like my dad he’s like a different person.

It’s been hard at home at time because dad had to stop work so we don’t have much money to do stuff now. I miss having dad at home because we used to play lots of footy and make things together. And mums so busy now she can’t do much with me, and she can’t play footy anyway. So I kind of hang around with my friends lots more.

My dad is heaps better than what he was at the start but I still wish he’d get better and be like he was before. Mum told me she wants him to get all better as well but that she knows he won’t be exactly the same because the strike means he will have problems.

My name’s Jake and my brother had his brain hurt two months ago when he was bash by these guys trying to steal his wallet. Mick’s missed heaps of school.

He’s just started going back now but only for a few days a week and he gets really tired. Everyone at school knew about what had happened to him and they were always asking me how he was.

My dad’s a bit hard on me now when I want to go out. He says he just can’t help worrying now but I just tell him I’ll be fine and look after myself.

Mick’s going good though he says it’s harder for him to do stuff than it used to be—it takes him longer to do things. He might have to repeat this year at school and that’s a bit of a bummer because we’ll be in the same year then. But he’s really lucky because it could have been a lot worse than it was. When he was first hurt I thought he was going to be some sort of vegie for the rest of his life, but he’s not.

I’m David and my dad got hurt bad about four months ago. When I first saw him in hospital I told myself he was going to be alright—even though I was scared stiff inside.

I didn’t really talk to anyone about what had happened. I didn’t want to talk to my mum because she was really stressed out. And I didn’t want to talk to any counsellors and staff because they were strangers and I didn’t want them to think I needed their help. And talking to my friends was out. They’d just say stuff like “yeah I understand” but they didn’t understand at all.

One day I just chucked a real spazo at school. My teacher was pretty cool about it and just told me that if you don’t talk about stuff it just builds up inside and it’s gotta get out somehow or you end up exploding. Anyway once I started talking about it I felt better. I still don’t like talking about it but I ask my mum questions sometimes and find out things from her. So I don’t have all these weird ideas floating around in my head now.

My name is Michael and my mum was hurt last year when she had a big fall at work.

I was 13 when she was hurt and I’m 14 now. When my dad first took me to see mum I thought she just looked sick and she would be home in a few days. But then some people at the hospital talked to everyone in my family and told us that mums brain had been bruised badly and she’d need to stay in hospital for a while. That was bad because it meant my sisters and me had to stay with our Aunty and Uncle while mum was in hospital because Dad had to keep working. But we still got to visit mum all the time.

It was pretty scary because I didn’t know what to do to help her get better. But the nurses were really good and they showed me and my sisters some things we could do with mum to help her. That was great because I felt I was doing something good not just sitting around being useless.

When mum came home she had to go places to help her brain working proply again. We used to help her do all her exercises and she used to tell us about all the games she had to do their.

Mum’s at home now. She couldn’t go back to her old job but she’s looking for another one now. Anyway she’s a lot better now but she does get cranky sometimes and does some weird things.

My names Ann and I’m 18. My brother Trevor was hurt in a car accident on his way home from a party a couple of months ago.

When my dad took me us to the intensive care unit to see him it was a real shock and I nearly fainted. He was all swollen and bruised, and had broken bones and tubes everywhere. He stayed in hospital for a while and then went to a rehab centre to get his brain working again.

He’s much better now but he gets pretty bad headaches and he can’t drive because he has epilepsy now.

The first time I saw him have a seizure it really frightened me but I am pretty used to them now. Not being able to drive has been pretty hard on my brother because he gets really frustrated he can’t get himself around places.

Sometimes he wants me to take him places or to come out with me when I go out. that’s pretty hard to deal with cause most times I just want to go out with my friends by myself. And sometimes he can be really embarrassing around my friends as well. So we fight a lot now and we didn’t used to—and that makes me feel sad.

My name is Melony and my mum's brain was hurt in a car accident.

My mum stayd in hospital for a long time and that made me scared and lonlee. When she was in hospital my Dad looked after me and my brutha. Dad wasn’t as good as mum. Hed forget to make me lunch for scool. I had to help at home to. Dad made me wash the dishes make my bed and cleen up—even toys my brutha was playing wif.

I was happy when mum came home she isn’t all better yet and she talks funny now. My dad says it will take a long time for to get better. I just wish shed get better now cause I miss her like she was.

My name is Shaun and I’m 9 years old. My big sister got hurt water skiing last year.

She is very different now and she cant use her arms anymore. I fight with her a lot now and we didn’t used to fight.

I have to help my mum do stuff at home becors mum has to look after my sister all the time. That makes me cranky. My mum and dad don’t spend as much time with me now and that makes me sad. Some times I get scared my mum and dad will get hert to and I have bad dreams.