3 replies to this topic

[Trisha]

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

[mikeC5/6]

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

[eleanorigby]

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".

Edited by eleanorigby, 16 September 2008 - 02:32 AM.

[Kwag_Myers]

Hi Trisha, and welcome to the forum.

Trisha, on Sep 15 2008, 07:58 PM, said:

How prepared were you when you left rehab?

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.

Trisha, on Sep 15 2008, 07:58 PM, said:

What adjustments were harder than you expected?

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.

Trisha, on Sep 15 2008, 07:58 PM, said:

Were any adjustments easier than you expected?

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