Louie - Trust your team to bring you through hard times

I’m here to sing the praises of the trusted health professionals I’ve built relationships with, who saved my life, renewed my hope for re-booting the career I love, and brought me peace of mind throughout recovery.

In country music circles, my stage name is Texas Rose and I have some original songs that go off like a stock whip! Overnight, I went from touring big festivals all over Australia, doing as many as 78 shows in six months and employing a crew of 10 people, to needing ten carers due to an aneuyrism.

It’s a genetic condition I inherited and remarkably, I recovered from three of these rupturing at once. My Neurologist said I was very lucky not to be wheelchair bound but I do have frontal lobe damage that affects my impulse control. I couldn’t walk, talk or think properly and my life went downhill to where I was barely getting by on welfare cheques.

I’ve had six craniotomies between 2005 and 2015. At this point they might as well put a hinge on my skull so they can pop it open whenever I’m due for maintenance!

Enduring so much left me feeling I couldn’t give a rats behind about anything but that all changed when I connected with Flourish Australia in Leeton. They really do care and go above and beyond for me.

The Leeton team were a tremendous support when a visit to my doctor about a thyroid issue took a turn for the worse. After listening to my heart with a stethoscope she said ‘we’d best fix that first’. I was shocked to learn I needed a replacement valve and would have travel a long distance from my family in Narrandera to undergo a major surgical procedure in Sydney.

I was desperate with worry about being all alone there for five weeks in recovery. Flourish Australia went above and beyond to work through a lot of red tape and have an Air Ambulance fly me there. They sorted everything out with the NDIS on my behalf and had their team at Buckhouse down in Sydney support me through my surgery and recovery.

I was made to feel so very valued and loved. They really walk their talk when it comes to person-centred support. I even had calls from the Leeton service, like we were all one big happy family.

I’d come such a long way from feeling so low when I first connected with Flourish Australia’s Leeton service. With their encouragement, I’ve amazed myself by overcoming feeling defeated by my health issues, to get back to my music. I miss being on the road and being asked how my show went.

Keep your eyes and ears open, the way my recovery is going with the support of my team, it’s only a matter of time before I get back to the stage!