After years of struggling to get support, East Nowra's Daniel Sheather has finally been accepted into the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
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Mr Sheather lives with cerebral palsy and as a result has a raft of complex medical conditions including osteoporosis, spinal and gastrointestinal problems.
Yet his applications for NDIS support were twice rejected over five years.
"I'm too disabled to be normal but too normal to be disabled, it's a hard place to be," he said.
Mr Sheather said the NDIS refusals were part of 33 years seeking help and being rejected - with many of those years spent homeless and roaming around the country and picking up work wherever he could, while the government was trying to "kick me off the disability support pension".
It included time working with cattle, spraying crops and most recently in house maintenance, often working long days and "smashing my body to pieces when I thought it was making me stronger".
That ended about three years ago when the cerebral palsy started "catching up on me like they said it would".
"I'm a bit sicker than I actually thought I was," Mr Sheather said.
Mr Sheather has lived in Nowra since 2001, where he cares for his housemate, and said some days he could not leave the house due to his condition.
"Sometimes I can't walk at all, I've had to crawl across the floor to answer the door."
Yet his latest application for help under the NDIS was refused, until he got help from Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips, and her staff.
They advised him to lodge and appeal and supported him through the appeal process, resulting in the NDIS support finally being awarded on Mr Sheather's 42nd birthday.
He said it was an "extremely emotional time".
"I've hit walls everywhere I've turned until a staff member in Mrs Phillips' office started advocating on my behalf," Mr Sheather said.
"With the NDIS I will hopefully be able to access the medical help I need.
"I've always been pretty independent but, as I'm getting older, I'm having more and more issues," he said.
"I hope this will help with getting lifts to doctors' appointments, the cost of physiotherapy and splints on my legs."
Mr Sheather said he hoped the NDIS would also be able to help him access safe and secure accommodation, something he had not had since about the age of eight.
He also hoped to get a support worker and health liaison officer, teaching him now to rent a home, along with help to complete his education so he can assist others.
'I'm hoping I can help other people - not particularly those with cerebral palsy, just anyone down on their luck," Mr Sheather said.
Mrs Phillips said she was happy to help.
"This is a fantastic result for Daniel, and after hearing his story, I know it will be absolutely life-changing for him," she said.
Mrs Phillips said her office door was always open to assist individuals and families in Gilmore with the NDIS as well as Centrelink, Veterans' Affairs, ATO and pension concerns.
"I want to hear from local people about issues that matter to them, and to do what I can to help," she said.
