How prepared were you when you left rehab?
What adjustments were harder than you expected?
Were any adjustments easier than you expected?

I was very well prepared when i left rehab. Independant bowel care was easier to adjust to than i expected and pushing myself in physiotherapy was harder than i expected

I was prepared and I wasn't. Nothing can prepare you for the reality of living in the real world with a SCI. Honestly, I felt they did all they could, but I became depressed after leaving rehab as real life was so much harder than I realized, mostly the differences in my ordinary routine. In rehab I didn't have to deal with that stuff because ordinary life did not exist there, only my quad life. Once I was home, the person I was before my accident was shoved in my face and the real losses began to become apparent. Instead of focusing on recovery, I suddenly had to focus on living my life in a chair, so there was no possible way rehab could have prepared me for that.

Luckily, I am a very good repressor (luckily? is that lucky?), so I didn't realize I was depressed until much later when I was a much happier, adjusted individual and I looked back on that period and time and just thought, "god, how horrible".

Hi Trisha, and welcome to the forum.

I had a very short stay in rehab - only three weeks. Fortunately, I had a day pass just a few days before my discharge and that gave my wife some idea of what she was in for, and a few days to prepare. Still, there was a lot that I had to learn on my own. Much of what I have learned I owe to the members of this forum.

I'm one-year post injury and the most difficult thing for me has been the constant fatigue. I hate not being able to do simple chores because I'm either too tired, or too weak. My new limitations effect every part of my life, even the most personal/intimate aspects. I'm still working on that emotionally.

The whole bathroom thing is next on the list.


Hmmm! I'll have to get back to you on that. So far, nothing's been easy.