Susie Elelman's heart breaks every day she speaks to her disabled nephew via Facetime.
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"Come here, come here, I want to go out', Matthew Elelman pleads to his "heartbroken" aunty.
"He doesn't understand why I can't visit. It's terrible. My heart breaks every day I talk to him," Susie said.
Elelman nowadays lives in Sydney but is a well-known Wollongong personality who frequently returns home to Wollongong to visit her brother Eddie and his son Matthew.
But because of COVID-enforced lockdowns she hasn't visited her 32-year-old nephew, who has Cerebral Palsy Spastic Quadriplegia, for over three months.
"i haven't hugged him and seen him for so long. It's been terrible," Elelman said.
"But it has been much worse for Matt. Every time we talk he asks when I'm going to come. He doesn't understand why I can't.
"It's difficult for him not seeing me. Luckily my brother Eddie can get in to see him but Matt is obviously already limited in what he can do.
"COVID and associated lockdowns have made things much worse.
"His group home is in lockdown, only carers who wear full PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] can come in.
"Even his disability day program has been cancelled which is especially tough because he hasn't been able to do his weekly hydrotherapy and as a result has stiffened up immensely and is in a great deal more pain than usual."
Seeing the struggle Matt and other people with disability face during lockdown is one of the main reasons why Elelman decided to become an ambassador for the #vaxtheillawarra campaign.
"Emotionally it is a terrible time for all of us but especially those people with a disability. My heart goes out to everyone with a disability who finds themselves in lockdown and not having the freedoms that even we have in lockdown. Matt can't go out for a five kilometre walk like the rest of us," she said.
The 66-year-old and Matt are fully vaccinated.
"I understand that some people are anti-vaccination, and I understand that there has been limited vaccines, particularly for regions like the Illawarra, but there is no excuse," Elelman said.
"If people don't want to take the vaccine to save their own life please think about those that aren't as fortunate as them. The people that are vulnerable, that if they get COVID will not necessarily have the ability to fight it.
"It is incumbent on all of us to protect those that aren't in the same position as perhaps those of us who are stronger in our health. I think like everybody I was apprehensive at first. But you've got to do it. We owe it to all Australians to get vaccinated and when we do we can have our freedoms back."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
