New & in the dark
Two weeks ago, my 70-yr-old dad sustained an incomplete c6 injury. A couple days ago, he was moved from ICU to an acute rehab facility. We know he’s in good hands but we feel left in the dark otherwise. While he was in the hospital, very few doctors spoke to us about the situation. We had to ask the nurses to get a Dr for us to talk to. We tried to attend a TSN meeting, but no one showed up (later found out the facilitator was on vacation). My dad hasn’t received any offer for emotional support/psychological therapy and he’s plunging into depression.
We were told by one DR that these types of injuries are largely a “wait & see” type of situation dependent on healing. We’ve heard terms “incomplete c6 injury,” “hyper extension of spinal cord between c5 and c6,” “central cord syndrome.” But no one has put it all together and given us the big picture of what that means in real life – and we asked. I understand that no one can predict the outcome for my dad, but no one has even offered a generalized concept. We’re clueless. We’ve all been thrust into an entirely new world requiring an entirely new education. Other than receiving some very basic info in a binder, we’ve gotten nothing. Are we supposed to rely on Google?
Im so sorry to vent, but I’m at a loss on how to help. I’m shocked at the lack of readily available on-site support. I have no problem being a patient advocate, but part of that is knowing where to turn, and I don’t. Now, I’ve returned home, 2 states away, and my mom and dad are left dealing with this on their own. My mom is emotionally weary (as am I), and my dad’s growing depression, while completely understandable, is also concerning. Any advice is greatly appreciated.