What are the issues which wives of patients with spinal cord injury face?!


Question:

What are the issues which wives of patients with spinal cord injury face?


Answers:

I don't know why this is in the cancer section...I just happened to see your question.

I did an internship at a hospital that specialized spinal cord and brain injury rehab. Most of the patients in the spinal cord injury ward were men - mostly because men usually take part in risky activities more than women do.

There are a few things that women with male partners that have spinal cord injuries need to deal with. The most obvious thing is the physical aspect. It depends where at what level the spinal cord injury is - for example, Christopher Reeve severed his spinal cord in his cevical spine (C1-C2). Due to the level of his injury, he lost feeling and the ability to control movement from this point down his body. The spinal cord injury is also classified as "complete" or "incomplete." You can get a definition of these terms according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA). There are ways that a man with a spinal cord injury can still be intimate with the woman he loves, but there also need to be some major adjustments. A man with a spinal cord injury still has desires and lustful feelings for his mate - just learning need to learn how to physically express differently. A good movie to watch regarding the transition a man needs to make from being a bi-ped to a parapalegic or quad is "Murderball." It is a documentary about men who are wheelchair athletes who learned to accommodate to their physical disabilities.

A spinal cord injury also renders the patient unable to control their sphincter muscles - so many spinal cord injury patients must rely on a catheter to urinate and teach their bodies how to have a bowel movement. It takes time, and learning how to control these normal body functions that we take for granted can be frustrating for the patient.

Aside from the physical aspect - there's the emotional side. There are a range of emotions. I found many men who I encountered to be very angry with their situation. Their minds were fully intact, but many times, they had to deal with the fact that they may never be able to regain the normal functions that they once had before their spinal cord injury. Unfortunately, the wives, close family or caretaker of the patient becomes subject to the rage and anger that the patient is dealing with. Having the help of a counselor or social worker will help both the patient and the person closest to the patient deal with the changes that are taking place in their life.




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