How to Take Care of a Loved One with Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury can lead to life-altering changes in a person and can also severely affect the life of those around him.  By their very nature, traumatic brain injuries are serious, and a person may need weeks, months, or even years to fully recover.

A person may truly never recover from traumatic brain injury, and the speed and pace of their recovery and rehabilitation depends on several factors, and quality of care is one of them.

A TBI can affect several aspects of life, and it’s often the lead cause of headaches, balance issues, blindness, memory loss, loss of cognitive abilities, mood fluctuations and other disabilities.

If a loved one has suffered a brain injury, then it can also radically alter your whole life as there may be a reversal of roles due to the severity of the injury. If a spouse has suffered an injury, then you may have to play the role of a parent and take care of all their daily needs.  On the other hand, adult and independent children may once again become dependent on you after suffering an injury.

During and After Rehabilitation

In most cases, a patient needs to relearn everything which they learned during childhood such as walking, speaking, eating, and dressing.  Occupational therapists and professionals teach everything while they are in rehab, but often patients are discharged from rehab due to the financial costs involved.

So, you will have to do the job of caregivers after your loved is discharged from rehab. Here are some tips for taking care of a loved one with traumatic brain injury once he/she returns to home from rehab.

Always be Patient

Patience is the key to success for any caregiver who must deal with a patient of a traumatic brain injury in daily basis.   The patient may forget even minor things, get mad at you, get confused about everyday things, or may be depressed at the lack of progress in his recovery.

It’s important to note that caring in these cases is completely different from caring for a person with physical injuries and it may sometimes requires patience and consistent because you may start losing your interest in caregiving.  But, with the right amount of love, it can be managed and several others before you have done so.

Keep a Constant Watch

As mentioned above, traumatic brain injuries may affect the ability of a person to perform even simple tasks as they may no longer be able to control their actions.  So, such a patient often needs constant supervision, and you may need to be on alert on a 24/7 basis as they may harm themselves inadvertently.

St. Petersburg Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

Traumatic brain injuries are considered the most debilitating types of injuries because several patients never recover from these.  These injuries also affect the life of the people around them including the family members.

If your loved one has suffered from traumatic brain injury due to an accident, it’d make sense to hire a St. Petersburg Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer to file a claim for damages because caring for a patient of such injuries may require huge financial resources.  Contact us 24/7 by calling (727) 498-8771.