Family hopes to no longer need ambulance for Natalie to enjoy simple things

A family still grappling with a domestic violence incident that left one of their members "within an inch of her life" 20 years ago, is hoping she won't have to stare at a ceiling for the rest of her life.

In 2003, Natalie Little was physically assaulted and left unconscious by her former partner, sustaining brain injuries and left unable to talk, walk or move.

Two decades later, the 49-year-old's family has reached out to the public for support for funding a vehicle so Ms Little can move further than her bedroom in Wagga Wagga.

"Just because a horrible horrible thing happened doesn't mean that she should have to stare at a ceiling her whole life," niece Matika Jane Little said.

"I think she's well overdue to come have a picnic at the park with us."

Natalie's brother Jay Little described her as bubbly and social, and always the life of the crowd before the domestic violence incident.

He said the perpetrator "came across as a gentleman" and had helped his sister with her two young children.

But he said in hindsight, there were signs of coercive behaviour and isolation but Ms Little was living away from family in Sydney.

"Hindsight's such a beautiful thing, you know," Mr Little said.

"He just found a way to get her to him, so she was isolated."

Mr Little remembers visiting the hospital after his sister was assaulted and said he dealt with feelings of blame and anger towards himself and the perpetrator.

After 12 months of operations and recovery in Sydney, the family moved Natalie to their hometown Wagga Wagga.

"The state that shock can live in, especially when we first saw her lying in bed," Mr Little said.

"The grave concerns were swelling on the brain and her head had enlarged."

Many moved back to Wagga Wagga to help look after Natalie and each other but Mr Little said the family has never been able to mourn or have closure over the incident.

"At the end of the day, we all felt helpless because the more it grew out, the more we realised how Natalie was going to be," he said.

"That's obviously a state now, there's no hiding the fact that she's a vegetable, in every sense of the word."

Mr Little has worked in advocacy about domestic violence across the country and shared his own experiences to help others fight it.

He hopes sharing her story will help others in a similar situation.

"At the very least, her incident hasn't been for nothing, hopefully we see more people in these relations, that they find help, we encourage them to reach out to first responders," he said.

"Use safe houses, and first and foremost get away from the perpetrators."

Matika Jane Little was only eight years old when the police knocked on her front door asking for her aunty.

"The next thing I knew, we were all at the hospital, the whole family," she said.

"I don't know what's going on, everyone is crying ... I didn't have the capacity to understand it at the time."

She remembers packing up and moving to Wagga Wagga to be with her grandmother, her aunty and the rest of the Little family who were prominent members of the city's football community.

For 10 years, Natalie lived in rooms at aged care facilities in Wagga Wagga, despite being decades younger than other residents.

The family was concerned she was being neglected in the care facilities and was able to bring her home after securing disability funding to fit out the house with equipment.

Natalie's mother and matriarch of the family, Stella, was already the carer for twins with intellectual disabilities when her daughter came home.

Whenever the family had gatherings and activities, Natalie and her mother were unable to attend because she could not be transported around without calling an ambulance.

"Nan couldn't come to Christmas dinner with the rest of the family," Ms Little said.

"Not only are we missing our aunt but we are missing our nan who is the matriarch of our family, it's just sad to see our family split in that way."

In November 2024, the family launched a campaign to raise $90,000 for a support vehicle to transport Natalie from her home around the region and country.

"Natalie has deep cultural connections to the coast and freshwater areas through her Wiradjuri, Kamilaroi, Ngunawal, and Yuin songlines," the page said.

"This van will give Natalie the freedom to reconnect with Country and access the medical care she needs with greater ease."

Ms Little said they've chosen to seek help through donations after 20 years because her nan is now ready to ask for support.

"Nan has never been the kind of person who asked for help," Ms Little said.

"We think she deserves to be able to move with the rest of our family.

"It's taken that 20 years to get her to that point where she's willing to accept that support to help."

Although Natalie cannot perform basic functions, the family said she can communicate with them by blinking to answer questions.

Ms Little wants her aunty to be able to travel to visit her two children and three grandchildren and travel outside of Wagga Wagga for the first time in years.

Being able to visit the river and attend indigenous events is also very important to the family.

"She hasn't been able to go outside, or go to the river," Ms Little said.

"Things all of us take for granted every single day are things she just does not get."

Donations towards the support vehicle can be made through the family's GoFundMe page.

Support is available for those who may be distressed.