How do you begin working with a recently injured patient? - Guy W. Fried, MD

Patients have to be empowered.  Patients who are stripped of their powers, and stripped of everything the second they get the injuries.  You get the most talented CEOs of the place, and all the sudden, they come in, and their stupefied.  All the sudden, their taken away of all authority.  Everything is taken away from them, and everything has to be a decision—surgery, boom, boom, boom.  And, we just say, “Stop, stop the madness, stop.  Get off the bus.  Let’s now make this journey together. This is a journey; you’re making a choice.  Do you want to live or not want to live?  Okay, you want to live.  You want to try this out for a while, okay, let’s do this.  Do you want to participate, do you want to stay in the hospital, or do you want to go home?  Okay, you want to do it.  You want to go to therapy, okay let’s do this.  What goals do you have?  Now, we can’t achieve the walking today, so what is it that you want to achieve?  We can do this, and this and this for you.  Do you want to achieve those goals? Because what you want to achieve, we can’t deliver, we don’t have a marriage, we don’t have a match.  And let’s get on the same plane, and once you and I can buy into the same goals, we can accomplish anything.”