Emily’s story

Emily has always had a passion for life and a strong desire to help others. After graduating, she launched her career as a nurse at Mater, juggling this with her passions of basketball and riding her beloved horse, Jude.

Tragically, one fateful weekend Emily’s carefree lifestyle came to a sudden halt. Emily and Jude were enjoying the expansive terrain of her parents property when, coming over an embankment, Jude was spooked by a brown snake, bucking wildly and flinging Emily from the saddle.

Emily sustained severe injuries that left her permanently disabled, no longer able to use her legs and confined to a wheelchair. Emily had the foresight to opt-in to receive the Salary-based standard insurance cover
package when she first joined Mercy Super. Her permanent disability meant she received a lump sum payment of $438,000 into her Mercy Super account providing much needed financial support that enabled her parents to make the necessary adjustments to their home to cater to Emily’s needs. It also helped cover their initial loss of income while they adjusted to becoming long-term carers.

Once Emily was off work for 60 days she also received her regular monthly income protection payments of $3,825 with an additional $450 going to her super account. She’ll continue to receive these payments for two years at which point they’ll reduce to a 50% payment of $2,250 per month (with the additional $450 per month still going to her super account) for another three years.

This level of financial security means she can focus on the things important to her and reframe her dreams and goals. Drawing on her inherent positive outlook, she’s now working towards following her passion to play basketball as a Paralympian.