My name's Hermine. I'm 21 years old.
At 18 years, I was diagnosed with a autoimmune disease known as ulcerative colitis. It's characterised with inflammation of the digestive tracts. And for the last four years, I've been studying a bachelor's degree of environmental management. Living with ulcerative colitis, it's a up and down rollercoaster. It's such an unpredictable disease, so I never know if one day I'm going to wake up and I'm going to be able to go to uni and function. And with the brain fog, my fatigue, and having to be cautious with what food I eat and whether I'm going to be close enough to a bathroom, it does impact every aspect of my daily life.
So out of three medications I'm currently on, only one is listed on the PBS, and that is the Mesalazine oral tablets. And so I have to take four of those a day. And currently they only come in a pack of 100. So it's only lasting me roughly 25 days. It will be eligible for the 60 day prescriptions, and so I'll still get the same amount of medication supply. It just means I'll be going to the GP and the pharmacy less. I think the 60 day prescription is extremely important, particularly for those who are having to live with these lifelong chronic illnesses.
The line of work that I want to get into is fly and fly out and to remote regions. So having that two month supply of medication, it will really change my life, and it will really, you know, be a big advantage to me.