Please help Glen and family

My name is Kerry Murphy and I’m the father of Glen, a tetraplegic, married with two children. Glen’s wife works to support the family and cares for Glen at night. Last month, after a 6½ year battle, we were once again turned down by the courts in a final attempt to require ACC to provide financial assistance for Glen’s disability.

Our journey began on 14 October 2017 when, after falling off a ladder a week or so earlier, Glen attended Victoria St Medical in Hamilton in a delirious state. He received muscle relaxant medication but no antibiotics. The following day, Glen collapsed and was taken by ambulance to Waikato Hospital where he was diagnosed with meningitis that had travelled to his spinal cord. Despite the hospital's warning to expect the worst, my son survived, but the infection left him tetraplegic.

The last 6½ years have been emotionally exhausting and highly stressful for our family. Tetraplegia is a condition where injury to the cervical area of the spinal cord results in loss of sensation below the neck, and weakness or paralysis of the arms and legs. It adversely impacts all aspects of Glen's life- mobility, feeding, sleeping, intimacy, toileting (manual bowel evacuation), washing and shaving- and causes chronic pain and pressure sores. The lack of financial assistance from ACC makes it extremely difficult to provide even a basic level of care, let alone address Glen's depression and anxiety. Any amount of financial support will be greatly appreciated by Glen.