Jayne Christian is a carer for her mum, Julie-Ann Christian, who is living with MND and has shared their story.
Jayne is currently Artist in Residence at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery until June 28 - 'With Time and Care' features her weaving created during a period of caring for her mother as she lives with a slow-progressing illness, the project reflecting on how love, patience, and attention can transform time into something lived deeply rather than measured. Jayne will also host a morning tea to raise funds for MND NSW and Meet the Artist session on June 22 from 11am, as well as a Community Weaving Workshop on June 27.
"In 2020, my Mum, Julie-Ann Christian, started to notice changes in her speech. I could not see it at that time, but she started health investigations which ruled out a stroke and indicated that she had a parathyroid tumour.
As this was unfolding during the COVID epidemic there was strain on the medical systems and long wait times to get in to see anyone. In 2021, she had her parathyroid tumour removed and all the symptoms associated with it lifted – except her speech difficulty persisted.
In 2022, Mum came up to stay with me as I was living near Newcastle at the time. I was sure Mum just needed to see an ENT to fix her up, but I found it hard to get any appointments in Newcastle and eventually got her into a specialist in North Sydney. It was at this time that he suggested we needed to see a neurologist as a matter of priority and assisted us to get an appointment without too much delay.
Over a few months Mum underwent testing which ruled out dementia and several other diseases. We were told at the time that it wasn’t MND, we now understand that is because she did not present with ALS/MND. We were simply told to live well, and if further deterioration happens with Mum’s speech it would be cause for further investigation.
In 2023, we travelled overseas for a month. Mum had falls in Paris and Ireland, which we laughed off and blamed on the uneven cobblestone and her bag catching as she went up the stairs boarding a flight. The travel became a strenuous task, but we finished our trip as planned.
In 2024 Mum insisted that her speech and swallowing was becoming worse, and by now I could see it clearly and regret minimising Mum’s earlier knowing that something was wrong. We went to a neurologist in Canberra, as she was now living back in her home in Wagga Wagga and underwent more tests that were still being conducted into 2025: MRIs, spinal fluid tests and waited long periods for any results.
Mum learnt new hacks to deal with her symptoms, i.e., having milk on hand to settle any choking caused by eating food, using a pair of long handled tongs to help her dress herself and practicing her meditation techniques to help keep calm during testing procedures that were once terrifying.
In 2025 our neurologist told us that he suspected she has PLS MND, but sent us to Professor Kiernan in Randwick to make the diagnosis, which we received in November 2025. While a devastating diagnosis to receive, after such a long period of suffering without any answers or adequate support, it was good to understand what was going on.
Mum and I are Baramadagal women and Mum has been a weaver for the past 20 years, having learned the practice in the Wiradjuri Community thanks to the revival efforts Ngarrindjeri Community who went to great lengths to revive the practice across communities and share it far and wide.
In 2022, Mum got her ethics approval to commence her PhD, which she has pursued all the time that she has been battling (PLS) MND. Mum’s PhD focuses on healing Stolen Generations trauma in women over 60 through the practice of weaving.
Since the end of 2025, Mum has needed greater assistance at home and we live together to manage life in the face of this disease. Throughout this time we have also had to manage with inadequate funding through the Aged Care System and voicing the problems attributed to the failed 1 November Support at Home reforms.
I am fortunate to be an artist in residence through the Regional Artist Development program run by Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, they have been very patient in allowing me to work the residency around the care giving to do for Mum and for us to be in the space together while I am making the pieces.
My Residency Exhibition is ‘With Time and Care’, it will show six exhibits corresponding with the six seasons of the cultural calendar, while the eight creative works within them reflect the eight phases of the moon cycle. Together, they invite reflection on how we mark time, navigate uncertainty, and find meaning within cycles that are larger than ourselves.
These works have come together throughout the month of June. On 21 June, Global MND Awareness Day coincides with the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, marking the longest night of the year before the gradual return of light.
For people living with Motor Neurone Disease, and for the families who walk alongside them, this symbolism carries particular weight. Without a cure, there is only care. Yet awareness remains essential, because awareness can lead to investment in research, better support systems and, ultimately, a cure.
On Wiradjuri Country, the Riverina has one of the highest rates of MND, with researchers earlier estimating it could be up to seven times the national average. Despite this, the region does not have a dedicated multidisciplinary MND clinic. Over the past three decades, MND-related deaths in Australia have increased by approximately 250%. The lifetime risk of developing MND is around 1 in 300 by the age of 85. These figures should concern all of us.
When confronted with the reality that time is uncertain and not promised, many of the structures we rely upon begin to shift. This body of work reflects on how we choose to spend our time, where we direct our care, and what becomes important when the future is no longer taken for granted.
In moments of uncertainty, we turn to Country and the cycles of nature for guidance. The changing seasons and phases of the moon provide a form of scaffolding, reminding us that life moves through rhythms of darkness and light, loss and renewal. The eight moon phases represented through eight distinct creative works remind us that the light will come, even if we are living through the longest night.
On 22 June Mum and I will welcome the Community into the residency space for a fundraiser morning tea and to see the works created in With Time and Care.
On 31 August Mum will submit her PhD."
- Jayne Christian
For more information about Jayne, visit jaynechristian.com
Click here to find out more about 'With Time and Care'
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