I recently read Rosemary Rawlins (@rorawlins) articles on the
benefits provided by caregivers to those recovering from TBI. I wanted to
share her article because as a caregiver for my husband, I completely agree
with Rosemary about the importance of caregivers to those recovering from a
TBI. I went to the hospital every day while Bob was there. The
doctors and nurses who cared for Bob were all very good, but the reality is he
was one of the many patients that they were responsible for. While he received a great deal of attention in CICU, the further away we got from CICU, the less one on one attention he received. It was not that he necessarily needed less attention but the doctors and nurses outside of CICU had more patients to take care of. While he
was in the hospital and especially before he regained his memory I advocated for him and for the treatments he was receiving. One of my most important roles since Bob's accident has been ensuring that he receives the best medical care possible to help with
his recovery. In addition, I
believe that having me and other family members around, even if he didn’t
recognize us, was key to helping Bob move forward. I was fortunate to have plenty of people taking care of the kids and me. It would have been much more difficult to focus on helping Bob without the support system I had and I am forever grateful for the friends and family who kept us going. Being a caregiver is
not easy and it can be hard to see the positive impact that you are having but
as Rosemary points out in her article the role of a caregiver is vital in terms of achieving
the best outcome possible for those recovering from a TBI. Here is the link to Rosemary’s article: http://www.brainline.org/content/2013/08/five-ways-caregivers-directly-impact-tbi-outcome.html
Have a great week. Lesli
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