Mike and Diane celebrated Australia Day 2002 much like any other Australians - with a barbecue and beer. But not too much beer for Diane though, with only 6 weeks until the birth of their first child.
Five days later, their whole world was turned upside down when Diane suffered a severe brain aneurism, leaving her comatose and requiring immediate life support. While doctors felt Mike and Diane's baby could be saved, they were not as confident about Diane. Six days after the aneurism, baby Makenzie was born by Caesarean.
Diane remained on life support for a further three weeks before waking up and becoming aware of her precarious situation. Significant paralysis throughout the right side of her body meant she was not only paralysed but also unable to communicate clearly. The aneurism also left Diane suffering from Aphasia - a neurological disorder causing language and comprehension difficulties.
Three months of intense rehabilitation saw Diane re-learn how to walk, talk and do everyday tasks like boiling water.
Things were now starting to look up for the family from a health perspective. Their financial situation, however, was a different story.
Before Diane's life threatening aneurism, her future looked set. They were financially secure with a mortgage on their home in one of Brisbane's inner city suburbs and a baby on the way. Diane was earning around $50,000 p.a. as an HR manager, while ironically Mike had recently given up a 6-figure salary to begin his studies in financial planning. Two years prior to marrying Diane, Mike was advised to take out income protection insurance which he did - just in case. However, he was not advised and didn't consider reviewing Diane's insurance requirements. And unfortunately, illnesses like brain aneurisms do not discern between those who have insurance and those who do not.
Without the benefit of insurance for Diane and with Mike in the middle of a career change they could not afford assistance at home. However, Diane could not cope at home alone with her disabilities and a baby, so they moved in with her parents. In order to continue to reduce their level of debt, the couple rented out their inner city home.
After nearly nine months of these living arrangements, Mike and Diane decided the time had come to go it alone. Unfortunately, as their level of debt was still too high to allow them to move back into their inner city home on just one salary, they moved to a suburb much further out to start their new life.
Had Mike and Diane had the benefit of insurance behind them, this story may have had quite a different ending. They might still be living in the inner city home they worked so hard to achieve, and they might not have had to depend on Diane's parents for so much assistance. While Diane's great determination helped her to succeed in learning to walk again (in fact just 18 months after the aneurism, she ran the 42km Sydney marathon) and communicate effectively, the added pressures the couple experienced financially could have been avoided had they been advised about protecting their wealth.