Fozia & Mohamed's Story

Fozia, 47, works full-time while caring for her 13-year-old son, Mohamed, who has autism, a learning disability, and several health conditions, including a heart defect, degenerative disc disease, and central sleep apnoea. He is non-verbal and has limited mobility. Mohamed attends a specialist school for children with complex needs and receives two-to-one care three times a week. Fozia finds the coordination of his education, medical needs, and appointments is relentless. She tries to learn about Mohamed's conditions herself as she doesn't trust health professionals to understand. Years of having to jump through hoops, being pushed back, misheard, or made to feel like she’s exaggerating have worn her down. It’s a constant battle, and she feels the health system is set up to make life more difficult than it needs to be. Her own health sits at the bottom of the list. Fozia lives with depression, high blood pressure, and chronic back pain, but she rarely seeks help for herself. Fozia has a partner, but there’s little time for their relationship.