10 Ways You Can Help Someone with a Spinal Cord Injury

Mason Ellis has just put out another video that we can’t wait to share with you: 10 Ways You Can Help Someone with a Spinal Cord or Traumatic Brain Injury.

If you’re trying to help someone who is coping with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury (SCI), then this video is a great place to start! In the video, Mason points out the many ways that you can help someone with a spinal cord injury adjust and enrich their life.

Mason’s tips include:

1. Understand the Injury. The first thing you need to do is to learn about and understand their injury—how it affects them, the treatments they need, and more. Understanding the injury is the first step to being able to help.
2. Realize Nothing is Certain. With TBI and SCI, nothing is ever 100% certain. Mason points out that there are cases where people who were told that “they’ll never walk again” have, in fact, recovered to the point where they could walk again, even if it is with assistance.
3. Help the Injured Get Stronger. Lack of exercise is a major problem for many people post-injury. So, Mason emphasizes the importance of helping the injured get stronger by setting up and helping them with their exercise plans.
4. Help Them Set Goals. Aside from strength training goals, it’s important to help an injured person to set personal goals to accomplish—like graduating college. This helps provide motivation and keeps them moving forward.
5. Actually Help Them Accomplish Those Goals. Of course, just setting a goal isn’t enough. Be there and help them accomplish their goals so they can succeed—even if you’re just providing moral support.
6. Don’t Just Jump in and do Things for the Injured Person. While you want to do your best to help a loved one who has a severe brain or spinal injury, you can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything for them. If you’ve ever had someone just jump in and start doing something for you, then you know how embarrassing or even frustrating that can be. As Mason points out, you should let them try to do things for themselves.
7. Include the Person in Everything. It’s not uncommon to start excluding friends and loved ones from certain activities after they’ve suffered a traumatic injury to the brain or spine. However, Mason Ellis highlights the importance of inviting these people to every activity—doing so helps prevent feelings of loss or alienation, which is good for their well-being.
8. Get them Involved in Something. Everybody needs a hobby. Whether it’s volunteering with a charity, a school club, or even just playing games with friends, getting involved in some kind of regular activity can help improve feelings of self-worth. Plus, getting involved can just plain be fun!
9. Make Modifications to the House They’re Living in. In another video, Mason pointed out some basic modifications that you can make to a house to make life more convenient the injured person. Making these modifications to the home can make the injured person feel more welcome—not to mention make life more convenient for them.
10. Talk to Them About Something They Like. Whether it’s something they liked before their injury, or something they developed a passion for after their injury, talk to the injured person about what they like. This can help them avoid thinking about things they don’t like, and social interaction can be good for them.

If you have a favorite way to help people with traumatic brain or spinal injuries, please share it in the comments below!