LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY: CURE VERSUS CARE
Posted on July 30, 2011, under Healthy bones Osteoporosis Rheumatic.
Some people in the spinal cord injury community are fundamentally opposed to spending research dollars on rehabilitation research. This position is based on the notion that the cure for spinal cord injury is really close, if we’d just commit sufficient resources to cure-oriented research. In this view, supporting rehabilitation research is counterproductive, because it takes away money that could be more productively used in finding the cure.
This position is not based on reality. A critical reading of the latest research literature on healing the injured spinal cord shows that, although it holds promise, huge problems remain, and it will be many years before these problems are solved. Working toward a cure for spinal cord injury remains important, but not to the exclusion of research on innovative approaches to rehabilitation, including FES, assistive devices, and maximizing the functions of the respiratory system, bowel, bladder, and skin.
Is it reasonable to hope for a cure of your own spinal cord injury? Of course. Hope is an essential aspect of human psychological function. Without it, we’d have little ability to tolerate adverse events. Hope, however, can have beneficial or harmful effects, depending on how it is expressed and experienced. Certainly, a person with paraplegia should believe that a cure will be found someday, perhaps within his or her lifetime. This belief can be motivating and energizing. But some people try to deny the reality of their injury by focusing exclusively on the chance for a cure. If you expect a cure in the immediate future and wait for it – meanwhile, passing up opportunities to live more effectively with a disability – you may be doing yourself a great disservice.
Refusing to participate in medical treatment, therapy, and self-care activities that are necessary for effective rehabilitation, and ultimately for participating in the world of family, social life, and involvement in the community, would be detrimental for anyone with a spinal cord injury. We must continue with the research to improve the rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries while, at the same time, looking for curative treatments. To do otherwise is a retreat into fantasy.
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