Reactions of Family and Friends Post Catastrophic Injury

There are many different reactions to hearing the news that a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury. The first reaction is typically of life or death: Will he or she survive? Family members have intense feelings and reactions during the time immediately following the injury when their loved one is being cared for in a hospital. There are likely many surgeries occurring and life saving treatment being given. The family is awaiting news about whether or not their injured family member is stable and the outcome of the injuries. Often the family, out of a need to cope, will minimize the seriousness of the injuries. It is not uncommon for family members to have anger and feelings of unfairness and thoughts of, “why us?” and “this shouldn’t have happened.”

After the initial acute care that is given by the hospital, the injured family member is ready to begin his or her recovery, and that, likely, will mean returning home to begin outpatient rehabilitation. Because the injury has varying degrees of physical and psychological changes, it can be difficult for the injured family member to transition home. During this phase of recovery, the family begins to feel a sense of hope. Hope that their injured family member will make a full recovery. This sense of hope helps the family begin accepting the limitations and reality of how life will be different. As the family begins to accept the injuries, they also begin the grieving process that is common after a traumatic event. The family begins to grieve the loss of the person they once knew; energetic, patient, primary supporter or financial supporter.

Emotional changes as a result of the brain injury can mean the individual may interact differently. For example, brain injury can result in an increase in anger issues and irritability. Family members and friends who interact with him or her may find themselves more carefully choosing their words, or avoiding certain topics of discussion for fear of setting off an anger outburst. Over a long period of time of “walking on eggshells,” family members and friends may become weary and lose their patience, which may in turn make the individual more prone to anger outbursts[1].

The individual’s friends are happy and looking forward to a homecoming, but after a period of time these welcoming friends begin to return to their lives of school, work and leisure activities. This leaves the recovering individual isolated or feeling isolated. It is very difficult for others to understand the magnitude of the changes. Some friends may feel a sense of uneasiness or awkwardness around the individual because there is “something different” about her or him.  Eventually friends stop coming around[2]. Family and friends sometimes have difficulty being around him or her due to feelings of guilt: “Could I have done anything to help prevent his/her accident?” They take on the responsibility for the accident. These feelings of guilt can cause friction in the relationship.

There are many other factors that can affect relationships during this time, and sometimes for life. There is no feeling that is “wrong.” The thoughts that occur to everyone involved are not unique. One might feel no one has experienced what he or she is and will keep thoughts and feelings “bottled up,” only to have emotions reach a point that makes them difficult to deal with because they are overwhelming.

It is vital for the recovering individual and family and friends to identify those who can help them and whom they can entrust with any doubts and fears. Through this, they will likely discover that they are not “alone” and their feelings are not “wrong” or “unnatural.”

As mentioned earlier in this topic, eventually family and friends have to return to their lives and that includes work, school, cooking, eating, shopping, recreation, paying bills—everything involved in day-to-day living, yet the lives of family caregivers and the recovering individual seem to have stopped or to have changed drastically without the possibility of returning to what they were before the accident or event.

In a later blog, we’ll further explore emotions experienced by family caregivers and the recovering individual, to reinforce neither needs to feel “alone.”

It is often appropriate and necessary that an injured individual is admitted to a residential post-acute program providing specialized rehabilitation to individuals diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic amputations and other catastrophic injuries. At NeuLife, in Mount Dora, Florida, a 27-Point Client Care Plan will be developed with the input of the individual and his or her family to achieve the best possible outcome for this client.

Family training and education, cognitive support services and psychology services are important for the client and family to consider participating in, in addition to physical, occupational, recreational and speech therapies. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of treatment that focuses on examining the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviors for both the client and family.

Education and training, as part of a holistic approach to recovery has proven to be very beneficial to a client and family. The importance of being able to communicate needs and wants is a key area of the recovery process. These services allow the client and family to practice and develop skills necessary for a positive recovery experience regarding the client’s goals and plans to achieve those goals. These sessions can be arranged on an individual basis or involve the client’s family.

Proper and timely post-acute rehabilitation that may determine the difference between disability and independence is what NeuLife refers to as the “platinum post-acute period”—the crucial window following acute care that is needed to nurture the whole person to health with specialized, clinically relevant services.

NeuLife’s philosophy is that healing, wellness and personal fulfillment are best accomplished in a positive and uplifting therapeutic environment where caring staff encourage, assist and support each client so he or she may achieve specific goals. NeuLife believes personal fulfillment is equally as important as goals to increase function and independence. NeuLife seeks to achieve, for all of its clients, maximized, sustained outcomes that exceed the expectations of all persons served.