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Tetraplegia
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Tetraplegia: Total or partial impairment of the sensory and motor functions of the body including all four limbs. The person looses control over bowel and bladder functions, posture and even in few cases respiratory functioning. Spinal cord injury (SCI), from impact to rehabilitation is a family affair. The family can be the single most important resource in dealing with a devastating trauma, and as such, plays a central and crucial role in the social and emotional stabilization of someone with SCI. The sudden impact of SCI places overwhelming stress on the family, which has had no time to prepare. It can throw off the balance of even the strongest families. At the time of injury, the family enters into an interdependent partnership with the injured person and becomes an integral and contributing part of the clinical team. The family provides support and empathy.. The family passes through stages to re-establish its balance after trauma. During the acute stage, the family is overwhelmed, fearful, confused, out of control, powerless, and numb. The family needs clear and accurate information because, in most situations, the family has not had a previous experience with a catastrophic injury; it has no reference points to build from and must rely on strangers speaking in medical terminology. During the adjustment or rehabilitation stage, the family actively works with the family member and the rehab team to become educated about SCI. The family members become learners and teachers, coaches and boosters to the survivor as he or she struggles to rebuild a life. Problems facing the SCI Caregiver It is important to understand that the concerns and problems of the individual with SCI and the concerns and problems of the caregiver usually are not the same. Results from a recent research project show that caregivers see their problems as: 1. the negative attitude of the person with SCI; 2. caregiver's feelings of guilt; 3. lack of appreciation for the caregiver; 4. not enough time to do their own activities; 5. having to say "no" to the person with SCI; and 6.
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