Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys – Care for the Caregiver

At Young and Young, we have worked with the finest doctors in the country on spinal cord injury. As Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys, representing Hoosiers dealing with spinal cord injuries out of our Indianapolis offices, we know the full impact on the family of a Hoosier dealing with spinal cord injury.  We represent Hoosiers with paraplegia, quadriplegia, and other problems caused by an injury to the spinal cord.  It does not matter whether the injury was caused by a car accident, a drunk driving accident, a truck accident, a construction accident, a fall from height, or any other kind of accident, we have been here for you since 1954.

We would like to take just a moment to say a few words about an issue that arises frequently in families dealing with spinal cord injury. It makes no difference if you are Sam Schmidt , Christopher Reeves or a working Hoosier, we need assistance with our activities of daily living and personal toilet.  Often times the spouse steps up and takes on this very important role.  Others times it is another family member.  Of course additional assistance is generally necessary.  The focus is on the injured family member, and rightly so.  Yet, the spouse and family members must recognize that they too have suffered a loss.  They must know that it is not selfish to feel burdened and sad.  It is a normal part of the grieving process over a loss.  One danger associated with these types of losses is that the spouse or family member does not recognize, or is unwilling to accept that they are involved in the grieving process.

Why is this so important?  Well, truth be told, you cannot continue to offer good quality care to your loved one if you do not take good quality care of yourself.  You must consider counseling.  If not counseling, then maybe a support group for people dealing with these issues.  Talking about your loss and your feelings is not an insult to the person you are assisting. It is a benefit to them because you are helping yourself to stay healthy so that you can be the most effective assistant you can be.  Thank you for being a strong person and standing by your family member.  Yes, thanks are appropriate because what you are doing is making the life of another human being fuller and richer and there is no greater gift than that.