What characterizes the most promising spinal cord injury family? - Guy W. Fried, MD

The most promising families are those that always give the patients opportunities, and try not to give criticism.  They try to understand that it’s easier to criticize than it is to do it.  And if they were in that circumstance, perhaps they don’t know how they would deal with it.  These injuries are God awful.  They’re catastrophic and they change everything.  So, it’s not for families to minimize, to say, “Well, so-and-so did this, you should do that. Christopher Reeve got out and he was on the speaker circuit, why aren’t you doing that?”  It’s not that way.  We all bring our strengths, weaknesses, and everything.   The families have to be compassionate, understand and offer things, and gently prod along, but not criticize and not force.