Julie had one quiet wish in her final weeks: to be at home.

She was in hospital after her health declined from Motor Neurone Disease. Discharge was possible — but only if extra care could be arranged. She needed a hoist and two people to help her in and out of bed each day. Her husband Frank was doing everything he could, but the support needed was simply more than one person could manage.

Her son Shannon had made a promise: when the time came, he’d make sure she could be at home.

They were doing all the right things. A Level 4 Home Care Package had been applied for. Services were in motion. But time was short. And the help they needed wasn’t coming quickly enough.

It was the hospital palliative care nurse who mentioned Mingary Care.

Within days, we were able to step in — arranging weekday in-home support for Julie’s final months. Two workers in the morning, one in the afternoon. Calm, capable people who helped with transfers, hygiene, and the kind of daily care that let Julie stay where she felt most at ease.

Shannon remembers walking into the lounge that first afternoon and seeing his mum watching Golden Girls on the TV, smiling. “She looked so happy,” he said. “Like herself again.”

The support didn’t just bring comfort to Julie — it brought comfort to the whole family. Shannon didn’t have to give up his job to take on care he wasn’t trained or equipped to give. Frank could focus on being there, not doing it all alone. They had space to sit with her, talk, and simply be present.

“It made a huge difference,” Shannon said. “It gave us the time and calm we needed.”

The Home Care Package? It never came through before Julie died.

But by then, she’d had what mattered most to her: time at home, with her family close by.