What’s the most important thing for families to know right away? - Allen Heinemann, PhD

I think my advice would be similar to the person who sustains the spinal cord injury, which is be patient with yourself, be patient with your loved one, you are in uncharted territory that you’ve not had to deal with before.  Others have been down this path before, and there’s an immense wealth of resources out in the community, on the web, through mutual support organizations that you don’t even know about yet.  But they’re out there, and waiting to be tapped.