Spinal Cord Injury Education

Hey guys. Today's blog is going to discuss basic elements of spinal cord injuries and where some good information can be found. To start off, I have added some links on the left side of the blog that will direct you to two of the websites that I've found to be useful. Also, as you may have noticed, there is a link that will direct you to my website.

For those of you who have spinal cord injuries, the two websites that I have on the left have some really good information. There are forums about how to travel, where to get used equipment, and classifications on what type of injury you have. However, for able-bodied people, it may just be interesting for you to read both of the websites just to get a feel for what I'm talking about.

One of the toughest things about being a recently injured person is that, when you are discharged from the hospital, they give you very little advice. When I got home in March, my mom and I would be spending a lot of time at the hospital because we didn't know how to handle a lot of the situations. My mother is not a nurse and in order to get nursing care you need to have a lot of money. Basically, you're on your own.

Since March, I've learned a lot of tricks and techniques that make my life easier, as well as my family's, by asking other paralyzed people how they deal with certain issues. Recently, my mother received a phone call from a family who has a recently injured child. The parents simply don't know how to cope and don't have the knowledge they need to adequately care for the child. It's almost like a moral imperative to help people that have the same injuries as you. When I'm at Kessler, everybody asks everybody else questions, no matter how inappropriate they might seem.

While it may seem that I'm not giving any specific advice, I want to do more than that. So instead of listing all the things that I think might help, I suggest looking at these websites and sending me any questions or comments. I would be more than happy to answer any questions for able-bodied or paralyzed people. No issue is off-limits and no question is stupid.

I look forward to hearing some of your questions and comments. Also, depending on how many of you actually get involved in this forum, I will use some of the comments and questions as blog suggestions. So don't be shy and please direct anybody who may need advice to my blog or website. Thank you.