On King Island, I was accused by the community and some very nasty people of practising in a way that I never would. A doctor, then took it upon himself (I had never met him) to read my med record and broadcast it, as well as writing a formal complaint (which included the way I dress, which made it clear he had never met me) to the Tas Pcy board; the board was to be disbanded in 3 months and the registrar (head) of the board, didn’t like me and conducted and illegal, and it turned out corrupt, investigation, and convinced the Tas pcy board to partially suspend me for 3 months to investigate (which is only reserved for severe malpractice). I rang PDL (our version of AMA - our legal insurance body) and eventually, unheard of though it was, the fact that I had evidence of innocence and persecution convinced them to take it to the supreme court to get an injunction against the suspension – which succeeded. The Tas pharmacy board settled before the formal hearing, however, the condition was that I ring another pharmacist, whom they nominated and go through my incident reports once a week. I did that for 3 months, and watched the people who had made sworn statements to untruths walk in and out of the pharmacy, began to believe I was guilty, because I was constantly defending myself and after 3 months, my lawyer contacted the newly formed AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) – who are the federal body who took over from the individual state boards, who said, they hadn’t had a chance to get to it, could they extend the current arrangement another 3 months. We said no, but agreed to 6 weeks. AHPRA conducted a second investigation. Again, many members of the community stepped forward to provide sworn and witnessed statements against me, however, the investigator was a pharmacist and the ex-head of the Vic pharmacy board and though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing/hearing, he basically said ‘it would be ok and that his role was as a fact finder and any questions he had he would email to my lawyer. He had a lot of questions, due to lots of statements. I ended up going to Melbourne, sitting between my Lawyer and the Aus head of Guild Legal – which is one of the biggest legal firms in Aus – to provide explanations and evidence for the questions raised by the statements. All were able to be conclusively disproved and in 2 cases it was obvious that the statements had been fabricated because they didn’t like me. The Island is isolated and I hadn’t been able to leave because of the restrictions on my registration, all I could do was stay and work there and not miss a smile or a day, because the only way to win was to be able show myself beyond reproach. I was cleared, formally, by AHPRA at the end of October. I had also arranged a locum to come across one week in every 4 to give me a break and give Stuart and I the chance to move off Island. On 1 Nov I went fully blind for 3 hours, it was diagnosed as a migraine. My sight gradually returned, but the other neurological symptoms didn’t fade. 2 weeks later I went back up to KI med practice (2 new doctors, both good and trust worthy, but I still asked them to shred everything), and was sent off Island for a CT. When that came back clear it was clear I couldn’t return to work so I was sent to Hobart to see a neurologist, psychiatrist, gynae and ophthalmologist (to rule out all causes) and was down here for a week. Before I left, we put the paper work in for our marriage, expecting a diagnosis of MS or Huntington’s and wanting to make sure I could sign the paperwork while I was still deemed mentally and physically competent and we could get married while I was alive.
I had no neuro symptoms when I saw the neurologist, who very cleverly diagnosed that the pain I had been experiencing since birth was a direct consequence of being sexually abused when I was 7 (he was tired, I don’t think the retrospective nature of what he was suggesting sounded at all absurd to him) and I went back to see my psychiatrist, who cleared me to work. I got back to the Island and had a breakdown in the Doctor’s surgery. At that stage I couldn’t even think about working without panicking and crying. I spoke to our employer and agreed to go back after Christmas for half days in the short week to see how it went. One of the Pharmacists on the Island spoke to my GP and mentioned I was considering coming back and my doctor (who was perfectly within his/her legal rights to do so) told her/him I couldn’t. He/She (the p’cist concerned) rang me and repeated what the doctor had said, I broke down into tears and said she/he was right. She asked me if there was any family I could stay with, and I said ‘yes’ I can stay with my grandparents. She/he asked me to ring them and she would try and arrange his/her schedule to cover me and ring me back.
I rang Nan and Pop and said I needed to come over and stay for a few weeks while Stuart got things sorted out, after the wedding; which I still wanted to go ahead while I was still competent-ish and alive and they agreed to picking me up on the 9th of Jan. I got a call from Graham (Claude) about 5 mins later to say ‘don’t involve Mum and Dad in this’ and he spent hours trying to convince me not to get married and not to leave my husband the day after and offered the caravan. He told me Nan and Pop were too old for visitors and that if I needed to come across I could stay in the van. I needed 24 hour care at this point and being independent wasn’t an option, however, I discussed it as though it was and he spent a long time explaining to me why I couldn’t get married.
The reasons included:
- He hadn’t met my husband and I couldn’t let someone marry into the family without the family meeting them first
- I wasn’t having a proper wedding
- I hadn’t invited them, or anyone from the family
- I was planning on leaving the Island the day after the wedding
- That it could have been a ‘knee jerk reaction to his and Chris’ engagement (which wasn’t even possible as Aus law requires at least a Calender months’ notice of a wedding to the celebrant.
- That it could wait and I could have a proper wedding and invite them and everyone else and they could meet him first.
A few days before the wedding my doctor thought I was ill enough to be flown down the Royal Hobart Hospital Psychiatric unit, with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the investigation, however, I insisted on getting married and staying for the wedding. She/he agreed on the condition Stuart took carer’s leave and I was not to be left alone and that I was on the next available flight off the island after the wedding.
The wedding took place, it was perfect. Our witnesses were there, plus our next door neighbours (who had helped me heaps and we invited the day before) and the p’cist (who had done everything she/he could to help me get off Island) and we made a bouquet from stolen flowers and Freja, a friend made a beautiful cake and we all went back to our house for cake and chips and drinks and I guess it was a little reception.
I flew off the Island 2 days later.
For the next 5 weeks or so, I spent our entire income on hotel fee’s, running us further into debt, but giving me somewhere safe to base myself from and to see my Doctor’s from. However, within about a week it became obvious, I didn’t know how to feed myself, look after myself, manage my meds, was subject to flashbacks and crying fits, nightmares and interupted sleep, and had to be under 24 hour, live in care. My doctor suggested I go and live with ‘chickens’ (mother), I refused, and refused to leave the surgery or stop crying or stop telling people to make ‘life’ go away. Mum eventually got me back to the hotel on the promise that she would stay with me and KFC.
I had been admitted to hospital the week before for abdo pain, but because I wasn’t a suicide risk and they were bed blocked they thought it better I go back to the hotel than be admitted (but they would have admitted me under gynae, however, by that time I was tired of the hospital and wanted to go ‘home’).
I wanted to be admitted to the psych ward, where I was ‘safe’, but instead ended up with my mother living in my hotel room. She asked Bex (Sister) to take a turn at looking after me while she went home (to New Norfolk every day), however, Bex wouldn’t (for which Mum got cranky at her). Mum fed me, made sure I didn’t go out at night, got me out of bed and made sure I was ‘safe’. She only stayed overnight in the hotel for 3 nights, but after that came in every morning and stayed the day, until Stuart got here.
Stuart arrived with the cat, who we discovered couldn’t go into a cattery as he had not been vaccinated, so I phoned someone he had been in touch with on gumtree and said ‘help – cat crisis’ and she moved out the next day. It is more than I wanted to pay for a house, but we had to have somewhere for a recently vaccinated, now quarantined cat, to live; and it’s a beautiful furnished house, just perfect for a newly vaccinated cat and his little family.
Stuart is nearly as affected as I am and isn’t working at the moment, his father just disowned him, and hence my weird post on fb and his only support is his ex; who doesn’t like me much, but is coming around.
My Mum is still cooking for us and freezing pre-made food for us for when she isn’t here and Doug (Mum’s ex) brought my meds that I couldn’t afford this month. Kim (my little brother) is swimming with me and has brought a pool membership and we are trying to survive. I live life through a fog of pain, confusion, doctors’ appointments and occasional ‘good days’, where I can function.
I have been completely cleared by AHPRA and it has been admitted that I had been falsely accused.
I feel lucky for the family I have, and love them to bits.
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