Our Story
In 2016 a tiny miracle named Shyna came into the world. She was small, fragile and a Heart Kid, born with a rare and complex congenital heart disease called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
On the day she was born an IV line was inserted incorrectly in NICU. Calcium leaked into the muscle tissue in her arm and caused a severe burn that destroyed her muscle and tissues. Two days later she went in for open heart surgery and almost did not survive.
Shyna was placed on ECMO and remained on life support for four days. The weeks that followed were filled with more complications. NEC infections, chyle leaks, infection in her arm and finally a tricuspid valve leak that sent her back to theatre for a salvage surgery, another open heart procedure. Her tiny heart was covered in scar tissue. It became clear that she would not recover and her mum made the bravest decision a parent can make. To turn off her life support and let her rest.
The days after Shyna’s death were harrowing. Her mum was trapped in a constant state of fight. Her nervous system could not reset and there was no safe place to land and grieve. The months that followed brought severe postnatal depression, post traumatic stress, anxiety and deep grief. Everyday functioning changed completely. Old coping mechanisms fell apart and it felt like drowning with no way to come up for air
One day, sitting in the sunshine, surrounded by a swarm of ladybugs, everything shifted. Ladybugs had always been Bug’s symbol. To everyone who loved her, she was “our ladybug.” In that moment her mum realised she could not stay where she was. She made a promise to herself and to Shyna. A promise not to lose herself and to reach out for help. She contacted the one person who had kept her grounded during their time in hospital and began the long journey of healing.
Our story is one of heartbreak and loss, but it is also a story of survival. It is about learning to live again with a disability that you cannot see.
Trauma changes the brain, the body and the way you move through the world. Over years of therapy, support from friends, family and professional supports as well as rebuilding, our founder learned to live a life that Bug would be proud of.
Shyna Promise Disability Support Service was born from that promise.
Today the promise made to one tiny girl has become a promise to you, to your family and to your children. A promise to walk with you through the good days and the hard days. A promise to show up, to listen, to believe you and to support you to live the life you deserve.
We are here to stand beside you while you work toward your goals, rebuild confidence and find your own way to fly.
From our family to yours, thank you for walking this journey with us. We cannot wait to see how far you can go.
Our Mission
Our mission is to honour the promise our founder made to her daughter, Shyna, by showing up for people the way she needed someone to show up for her.
We walk beside people living with disability, mental illness and trauma, holding space for both the beautiful and the messy parts of life. We listen, we believe you, and we support you to move toward your own version of a good life, at your pace, in your way.
At Shyna Promise Disability Support Service we are not here to fix you. We are here to stand with you, to fight for your dignity and choices, and to make sure you never feel like you are walking this road alone.
Our Vision
Our vision is a world where people living with disability, trauma and invisible illness are not pushed to the edges or brushed aside, but are believed, respected and supported to live a life that actually feels like their own. We see a community where NDIS supports are not just rosters and reports, but real relationships built on trust, honesty and follow through.
A world where support workers and providers show up when it matters, speak up when something is not right, and hold hope on the days when our participants cannot.
At Shyna Promise we are working toward an NDIS space where families feel held, participants feel safe to be their whole selves, and every person has the chance to heal, grow and fly in their own time.