What can families do to help patients cope with a spinal cord injury? - Heather Taylor, PhD

Family members are huge; they really are the key to helping individuals cope with spinal cord injury. Everything about their support is so, so necessary. For loved ones to help them in so many ways, one is just being there to listen, no judgments, just being a sounding board, being a support, helping advocate with them with their physicians. Being that other ear who can hear what is being said-a lot of times it’s very difficult to listen to the medical community and really absorb what’s being said. So being that support system that’s there for them. There are so many steps along the way that make it important to have a support system with you.