Helping Your Loved One Recover After a Serious Accident
No matter what age we are, we can all have a serious accident that takes the life we know and the habits we have for granted and throws them out the door for a while. We can find our lives turned upside down from a bad car accident, a serious fall, or just about anything else that injures us so severely we feel like we have to almost begin again. Occupational therapy services are a great way to reteach your loved one certain skills so they can remain independent.
Mental Recovery From a Physical Injury
After a serious accident, your loved one will work with a team to help her recover many of her physical abilities again. Depending on the accident, her health, and many other variables, this can be a long path that will not always have improvements. There will be days or weeks when progress goes backward or the struggles are so intense, that she’ll feel overwhelmed. The mental health aspects of recovery are often just as important as the physical recovery. As a caring loved one, you can provide mental health support in several ways.
Being an active listener. Ask her questions and prompt her to talk about what she’s struggling with.
Being compassionate. Gently listen and offer what she needs whether it’s a sounding board, a place to vent, or a place to talk about silly stuff that doesn’t matter.
Offer guidance. Your loved one might need to talk to a professional while she undergoes this battle. Offer to help her find the right support and help her find ways to get to appointments or schedule online video calls.
Be consistent. Be there for as long as she needs someone.
Providing Help Around the Home
As your loved one goes through recovery, she might find there are tasks around the home she can no longer do because of her injuries. She might be able to perform some of them again, but at her current stage of recovery, she needs a little help. By providing her the peace of mind needed regarding home care, she can focus on her physical and mental well-being.
Five Steps to Help Around the Home
Enlist family and friends to take on certain chores. The weekly chores are often easiest to assign to friends and family. You can have someone take care of the yard by mowing or shoveling, someone takes care of groceries by shopping, and someone takes care of weekly home chores like laundry and garbage.
Sign up for deliveries. Shopping might be a bit too much right now so having groceries and prescriptions delivered can ensure your loved one gets what she needs without having to go out.
Occupational Therapy Simpsonville SC – Helping Your Loved One Recover After a Serious Accident
Let some things go. If your loved one is only going to be using one area of her home while she recovers, it’s okay to simply close the doors to other areas and make the decision with your loved one that those areas don’t need to be maintained right now.
Help with pet care. Pets provide comfort and companionship so if possible, work with others to help your loved one keep her pets at home as she recovers.
Have a professional come in and provide an occupational therapy assessment with your loved one. A trained occupational therapy professional can review your loved one’s home with her and help her find new ways to complete tasks as she recovers.
