How to Cope With Partial Paralysis

About 247,000 people in America are living with a spinal cord injury resulting in partial or complete paralysis. As a consequence, these individuals have to learn to cope with a life very different from the one they led prior to their spinal cord injury. For those individuals living with partial paralysis or for their loved ones, what follows are some guidelines to help you cope.

Instructions

• 1

  Develop a team of medical experts to help cope with all the changes partial paralysis brings. A successful team would include a physical and occupational therapist, a general practitioner, a spinal cord specialist and a psychologist to help both the patient and the family deal effectively with recovery.

• 2

  Focus on recovery. In many cases, partially paralyzed individuals recover some or all of their use of the affected limbs. So, adopting a positive view of life after injury is the key to overcoming obstacles.

• 3

  Work closely with a qualified physical therapist to help regain some or all use of effected limbs. In many cases, physical therapists can help the patient recover all of their former abilities by focusing on retraining the effected limbs.

• 4

  Adopt a holistic approach to recovery. More and more people with partial paralysis are focusing on a whole person (holistic) approach to healing because this view takes into account the mental, spiritual and physical aspects of recovery. To successfully navigate the recovery process, the whole person needs to be helped, not just the effected limbs.

• 5

  Create an environment that allows the partially paralyzed to interact with others. One of the greatest problems facing those with diminished capabilities is their loneliness and feelings of isolation. By keeping the person involved with family, friends and others with similar problems, the person evolves and continues to grow rather than diminishes.