If you’ve been in an accident, had a traumatic fall, developed increasing spinal problems, or are simply experiencing some of the symptoms of a spinal cord injury, it’s absolutely critical that you seek professional medical help as quickly as possible. If you think you’ve suffered an SCI, your best bet is to head straight to an urgent care facility or an emergency room. There are specialists trained in dealing with these types of injuries. Waiting to get treatment can lead to complications and even more severe injury.
Advances in medical technology can make detection of SCIs relatively straightforward, especially in cases of trauma. Healthcare providers can use X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs to effectively diagnose an SCI.
Your Mental State Post-Injury
In the immediate aftermath of your spinal cord injury, there is a lot to process. First, there’s the physical pain. Then, the struggle to adjust to the fact that you have to approach the activities of daily life in a new way. There will also be fear, fear of how your SCI will affect your future, your relationships & your resources.
During both the immediate aftermath and long-term life with your spinal injury, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone, and that your SCI doesn’t mean it’s all over. The SCI/D community is a large and vibrant one with many established resources and constantly improving assistive technology & medicine. With the right care and emphasis on healthy behaviors, improvement of your SCI is possible. No matter what level of ability you have after your injury, you are still capable of having a full, active and happy life: that life may just look different than you initially imagined.
As soon as you are able, reach out to your peers in the SCI community. They will help you provide context for what to expect as you learn to live around your spinal cord injury or become a caretaker for your loved one with an SCI. Our SCI resource library can help get you connected to other community members today.
Short-Term Treatment & Recovery
If your spinal injury was caused by a traumatic event, the first phases of your recovery may be out of your hands. You may not have been conscious or cognizant enough to choose which trauma center emergency medical services took you to, or your condition may have required care start with a specific method or at a specific location. If you do get to choose your emergency care facility, request a Level I, high-volume trauma center.
At the trauma center you will undergo needed medical care and testing, and may be given an AIS (ASIA impairment scale) score. This score measures the completeness of the SCI.
You may be asked to participate in a clinical trial. If you are considering volunteering for the trial, it’s important to remember that a trial is not a treatment plan—it is research. Clinical trials help medical professionals learn more about how to effectively treat an injury or disease. Make sure that you are fully informed about the details of a trial before agreeing to join.
Once you’ve healed from any life-threatening damage and no longer require constant supervision by medical staff, it’s time to choose a rehab facility. For a non-comprehensive list of regional recovery facilities, see our SCI resources page. The main things you should consider in choosing a facility are your insurance, the accreditation of the facility, and whether it is a rehab facility that specializes in spinal cord injury. A higher-volume, specialized & CARF accredited facility is ideal and shows the rehab center’s commitment to SCI recovery.
Long-Term Treatment & Recovery
It’s a reality of SCIs that leaving the hospital or rehab center doesn’t mean leaving behind the injury. Once in-patient rehab has finished, there is still much to do. A caretaker for the patient must be appointed, if one hasn’t been appointed already. This can be a spouse, a relative or, in the case of high-level spinal cord injury, the patient & their family may choose to hire an outside caregiver. Being a caretaker for someone with SCI comes with its own stresses & challenges, so it’s just as important for the caretaker to find community support as the loved one with the spinal injury.
The patient’s living arrangements must also be adapted to their new range of abilities. This can include anything from installing ramps, choosing urological equipment, picking out a wheelchair—even looking at adaptive cars to get around! Adjusting to the new routine can be hard—sometimes small, seemingly insignificant tasks are more complicated than we initially realize. It’s important not to become too discouraged. Just like anything in life, practice makes perfect, and what seem like insurmountable obstacles today will soon become everyday routine if you keep going.
Exercising & eating a healthy diet is now more important than ever. In rehab, the doctor & therapist should have demonstrated techniques to help the patient stay in shape. Make exercise a daily regimen. It will not only help by keeping the risks or pains of secondary conditions low, it also helps keep up everyone’s mental health.
For more information on how to live a healthy, happy life after your spinal cord injury, see our Life with SCI page.
Getting Legal Help for Your Spinal Cord Injury
If you suffered an injury during an accident caused by someone’s negligence, you should employ the services of a spinal cord injury law expert. Speaking with an experienced SCI attorney as soon as possible will keep you from losing your opportunity to hold any parties responsible for your injury accountable, as well as give you access to an advocate familiar with the needs, challenges & opportunities available to you in your newly vulnerable position.
An experienced spinal cord injury attorney will also be able to help secure you any available compensation for your injury. Many, including the personal injury lawyers at Burg Simpson, are also familiar with the potential insurance hurdles SCI patients will face before, during & after recovery. Treating and living with a spinal cord injury gets expensive—if you try to navigate the legal & insurance challenges of an SCI by yourself, it’s very probable that you will end up having to pay more of those costs than necessary from your own finances.
Damages that can possibly be recovered include:
- Economic, which are meant to compensate an injured party’s financial losses, including loss of both current and potential income, medical expenses and rehabilitation costs.
- Non-economic, which is intended to compensate someone for non-financial losses, such as emotional trauma, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, among others.
- Punitive, which are damages awarded as a deterrent to prevent another, similar accident.
There a number of factors that can come into play when figuring out whether someone who’s suffered an SCI will be able to secure compensation for their injuries – and how much they’ll be entitled to. A compassionate personal injury lawyer, who’s experienced with these kinds of cases, can help you navigate challenges as they arise.