Mum, 82, pleads with NDIS to take over care of son living with several disabilities

Avril Cornock is living her nightmare, too old to care for her disabled son.

"As things are now, and where we are, I feel like the NDIS have given both Nicholas and I a death sentence," Cornock told A Current Affair.

At 82 years old, the single mother has cared for her son, Nicholas, for 49 years but said she can't do it any more.

READ MORE: Sydney women reveal survival story after brutal, random attack by celebrity dentist

"If he falls now, it's happened before, he'll take us both," she said.

"And were something to happen to me, for instance, I'm waiting to hear about a surgery, I'm not going to be available, so the whole thing is unthinkable."

At one month old, Nicholas was diagnosed with e coli meningitis and high-strength antibiotics left him deaf.

"He suffered a pediatric stroke when he was about two months old from a lumbar puncture," Cornock explained.

"He came home around about six months of age and I asked the consultant what we should expect and he said you won't know until it doesn't happen."

But what milestones Nicholas didn't meet, he made up for in every other way possible, his mother said.

"He was a very outgoing person, very positive... he's always wanted to give back."

Nicholas has always held down a job or volunteered, often in the stables grooming horses, serving tea to the deaf or cleaning.

READ MORE: Accused paedophile from New Zealand found living in Australian tourist hotspot

When Avril and Nicholas moved from the UK to Australia, Nicholas held down jobs for years before a fall put him in a wheelchair.

He now battles with various conditions including diabetes, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, lymphoedema and early onset Alzheimer's.

"He needs 24-hour care, simple as that," Cornock said.

In a battle with the National Disability Insurance Agency, Cornock wants Nicholas to be provided with one-on-one care 24 hours a day.

"He can't maneuver his wheelchair so he would be helpless if anyone wasn't with him... he chokes so somebody has to be with him during mealtimes, he uses a hoist, you have to have two people using a hoist," Cornock explained.

Yet, the NDIS is planning to provide Nicholas with one carer between three people at times, which could leave him in danger.

"He doesn't deserve this and I think he's lived a valiant life. He deserves to end it with dignity and kindness and respect," Cornock said.

Watch the full video in the player above.

FULL NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE AGENCY STATEMENT

The National Disability Insurance Agency's priority is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of participants and ensuring that they receive the disability-related supports they need.

The NDIA makes funding decisions based on all the evidence available, and in line with the NDIS Act.

When a participant's circumstances change, the Agency works with participants and their families to gather the information needed to support a potential change to their supports.

We can confirm that the Agency is working with Nicholas and his family to resolve his disability housing supports as a matter of priority.