Can any one tell me what i should and shouldn't be doing around my cus who is a parapligic?

Hi,

You should behave as you normally would around your cousin, he/she is the same person, with the same interests, the same ideas, same likes and dislikes, but now he/she has a spinal injury.

Give them all the normal upto date things that are going on in your world, discuss the topics you normally would, and if they are ok with their injury, discuss that, but let him/her know that you intend to be there for them in the same way you were pre-accident.

The biggest fear after a new injury is that the rest of the world is going to leave you because you can't walk, run etc etc, but if you read these posts on this forum you will see that most people still do most things, just differently. They have no choice but to re-adapt to the situation, but life doesn't stop just because you have an SCI. If there is anger, upset, disbelief these are issues which are natural to the new situation, but they are usually brought on by fear of the unknown.

Think about how you would want to be treated if it were you.

I watched Trauma last night on Sky and a girl who was a long distance runner, was involved in a car accident and became a para, she seemed to deal with the change to her life in a remarkably positive way. She was working out in the gym as often as the hospital would allow, she said she hadn't been a good enough long distance runner to be in the Olympics, but with stamina and a new found determination, she said she was going to make sure she was good enough to be in the para-olympics.

I don't know if she got to be a competitor in the para-olympics, but I was very proud of her determination and will power. I hope she made it.

Maria