Is an outside caregiver preferable to a family member for someone with a spinal cord injury? - Kathy Hulse, MSW

If at all possible, I think it’s better to have an outside agency provide the caregiving role because it keeps the roles within the family cleaner. You can stay in the role of the spouse, or the sister or whatever your role is within the family, and it’s less burden and responsibility on you. You still will be doing some caregiving responsibilities, but if you’re not having to do a bowel program in addition to being a wife then the intimacy roles are not as complicated that way. If it’s at all possible—finances come into play with this, there’s a number of issues that come into play with this—sometimes it’s not always possible for the family to do that.