When You Are Injured
Life is filled with ups and downs, and sometimes one of the “downs” takes you down for the count. If you have been injured in an accident, you may be looking at a long road to healing, or even at learning to live with chronic pain or permanent injuries. When an accident happens, it can turn your world upside-down, and it can be hard to know how to move forward.
The first thing to do is to access the best medical care you can get. If you are concerned about the treatment you’re getting, ask for a second opinion, or see about transferring to a different hospital. It’s important that you have faith in the abilities of your medical professionals, and in the treatment and advice you’re getting.
Good doctors and nurses can be founding members of your “team” as you strive to recover from your injuries, but you also need some friends and family. Enlist the ones that make you laugh, the ones who are organized, the ones who will remember to feed your cat and water your plant while you’re laid up in bed. (Remove the ones who stress you out off your team, because you need peace and mental space to recover.) A counsellor, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, and alternative medical practitioners are also valuable additions to your team. And, if you intend to seek compensation in court, a good personal injury lawyer can be one of the most important members of Team You.
What You Need
Once you have your team in place, you can start to gather information. You will want to know as much as possible about your particular injury and the options for treatment that exist. Your doctors can help you to explore these options and to make informed decisions. You will also want to know about any devices or equipment that can make life easier for you right now. These might include prosthetics, custom-made feeding equipment, zipper pulls, a shower chair, walkers/crutches, or anything that can help to increase your mobility or your independence. An occupational therapist can help you to find solutions that work for you. Organizations that work on behalf of people with your injury can also be a good resource for these types of devices. Once you are familiar with some of these organizations, you may also want to reach out to people who have the same injury that you do. It can be highly beneficial to add someone who’s “been there, done that” to Team You.
Of course you will need the right treatment and a good attitude to get started on the road to healing. But you will also need some peace of mind and some relief from stress. Being injured can be very stressful – you can’t work, you can’t look after your family the way you’re used to doing. So it may be time to try some new relaxation techniques. These might include journaling, listening to classical music, meditating, going outside if you can, guided imagery, prayer, or even just focusing on your breathing for a few minutes. Some people reduce stress by exercising, or by doing the New York Times weekend crossword puzzles. Try to find the thing that works for you, because having some peace of mind will help to speed your recovery.
When you’re injured, you also need the things that you always need: good healthy food (and some vitamin supplements), lots of water to drink, plenty of rest, and healthy habits. If you are a smoker, now is a great time to stop. And cutting out alcohol is always a good idea when your body is already under stress.
Try to take things a day at a time. Being injured can make you frustrated and anxious. Sometimes the future looks uncertain. But by living in the present and trying to work bit by bit toward better health, you can improve your outlook and your condition.
Legal Matters
Remember the personal injury lawyer on Team You? He or she can help you decide on a course of action with regard to filing for damages. While it can be difficult to think about legal matters while you’re not up to par physically, it can also give you some concrete work to do, and a distraction from the hospital routine.
You can start by writing down all of the details you remember from the day of the accident, and all of the medical treatments you’ve had to date. Start a diary that will keep track of your condition, your treatment, and your medical personnel from now on. This sort of information can be very useful for your lawyer. You can also learn more about possible treatments for you later on: where they are available, how much they cost, and whether your doctors recommend them for your situation.
Being injured can be a time of frustration, confusion, and pain. But the small steps you take toward good health each day will lead you into a better future. Put a personal injury lawyer on your Team You and see how coping with the stress of an injury can be relived.