Living with Disabilities

The fact is none of us know when we may be the victim of a debilitating accident or injury. One moment we could be going through our daily routine as happy as we can be and the next moment we could be struck down with a spinal cord injury or stroke and become disabled for life.

One thing we all need to remember is to never say never. It is not always the other person, sometimes it hits close to home. In any case a catastrophic illness or accident can lead us down the path of living with disabilities and will change our lives completely. ! Disabilities can affect all Americans, men, women and children.

we should not become paranoid about our health and well being and worry needlessly about living with disabilities that stroke or spinal cord injuries could bring but we also should be sure to not take it for granted. This could be disastrous.

Common sense tells us we should eat properly, keep our weight down and have plenty of exercise but still the fact remains we are all subject to the unexpected in life. Most of us take the attitude that it happens to someone else and not us, that approach to our health could be perilous. This attitude tends to lead us to complacency and false security.

Of course disabilities can come in many forms from accidents to deteriating health and can range from blindness, loss of hearing, chronic arthritis, impaired speech to spinal cord injuries which of course can lead to loss of mobility and Paraplegia or Quadriplegia.

WHAT IS PARAPLEGIA ?

Paraplegia is the result of an injury to the spinal cord. It could be at the thoracic level, that is the 12 vertebrae that run from your lower neck to the lower back or it could be an injury to the lumbar or sacral levels . Generally the higher up the spinal cord injury is located the more severe the paralysis and disability will be.

Most people with Paraplegia have almost full use of the upper extremities but little control over the lower extremities . With the proper rehabilitation therapy and training most Paraplegics will be able to resume a productive and useful life.

Unfortunately they will always have problems of mobility and will most certainly have an increase in pain and other problems as they age. It is almost a certainty that they will have to endure multiple surgeries over the years just to maintain mobility and quality of life.

There has been extensive research done on the victims of Paraplegia and besides the obvious physical limitations that Paraplegia can cause most paralysis patients also face the physiological affects of living day to day with mobility limitations as well as other decreased physical abilities.

In other words their bodies just do not function they way they did before they became disabled. To say that living as a Paraplegic requires mental toughness is an understatement.

In a nutshell the frustrations faced in daily life by the disabled are enormous. Any endeavor can be a challenge from just getting out of bed to taking a bath to going shopping and dealing with the public they encounter can be painfully disheartening to those afflicted with disabilities. This creates a very stressful situation.

TIPS FOR THE DISABLED FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

Give yourself time to adjust to your new situation
Be sure to take advantage of all the help and resources available to you. Clinics, Friends and support groups all can help you adjust. Don't forget the Internet,there is a world of info available there and some of it can really help .
Develop some interests, a hobby, reading, cross stitch or learning how to build websites if you have access to a computer, a great free web editor is called NVU, it is great for the beginning webmaster.
Read as much as you can about coping with your disability, there are lots of great books available both off line and on.
Remember, you can't change the past, look to the future, you can persevere and live a happy productive life despite your disability.
Last but not least, try to develop some type of exercise routine regardless of how small it may be, it will help relieve a lot of stress and be sure to continue a good nutritional dietary program to keep your immune system up.

LIVING WITH DISABILITIES

WHAT IS PARAPLEGIA ?

TIPS FOR THE DISABLED FOR EVERYDAY LIFE