Hi, my name is Esther. For most of my adult life, nursing was more than just a job. It was a career I worked hard to build, a profession I was proud of, and a way I supported myself and contributed to other people’s lives.

I became a registered nurse after years of study and went on to work in community nursing, including supporting people with complex and high needs.

But my career changed because of something I never expected to experience at work.

During my time working as a community nurse, I was repeatedly exposed to verbal abuse, aggression and traumatic interactions from a patient over an extended period. I continued doing my job and trying to provide care despite the impact those experiences were having on me.

Eventually, I reached a point where I could no longer continue in face-to-face nursing.

What I experienced did not simply disappear when I left that workplace. I developed ongoing psychological difficulties, including trauma-related symptoms, anxiety and depression. Years later, the effects have continued to affect my ability to work, travel, function and, most importantly, return to the profession I trained for.

I have tried to rebuild my working life. I moved into non-clinical employment and have continued working where I can, but the work I have been able to obtain has not provided the same career pathway or earning capacity that nursing once offered me.

That difference has had a very real financial consequence.

Over the past several years, I have experienced a significant income shortfall while trying to survive, recover and rebuild my life. During that time, I have accumulated debts and financial obligations that I would not otherwise have been able to sustain on my reduced circumstances.

I have also pursued the formal avenues available to me for recognition and compensation for my injury. However, navigating those systems has been incredibly difficult. The severity of psychological injuries can be difficult to capture through the assessment metrics used by compensation schemes, and the outcome of an assessment does not necessarily reflect the day-to-day reality of living with the consequences.

For me, the issue isn’t simply a number on an assessment.

It is that I lost the ability to continue doing the career I trained for.

I am now asking for help to address the financial consequences of those years and to give me some breathing room as I continue rebuilding my life.

Funds raised will be used primarily to help reduce the debts and financial obligations I have accumulated as a result of the loss of earning capacity I have experienced, and to help me move forward without carrying the full weight of those years alone.

Asking for financial help is incredibly difficult for me. I have always wanted to be independent and to work for what I have. I am not asking people to fix my life. I am asking for some help to recover from circumstances that fundamentally changed it.

If you are able to donate, no matter how small, I would be incredibly grateful.

If you aren’t in a position to donate, sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for helping me take another step forward.