When a loved one suffers a brain injury, your family life can quickly be turned upside down. While many of the resources available online are focused on the injury victim, there isn’t as much support for family members and caregivers of brain injury victims.
Often, brain injuries cause long lasting changes in your loved one’s personality, and often impact the physical and mental ability of their victims as well. For caregivers and family members, these changes can be extremely upsetting because in the blink of an eye, the person you knew and loved is drastically different. Adjusting to the changes in your loved one and the new demands on your time can be difficult. And the old adage that you must help yourself before you can help someone else really can come into play in these situations. If you want to care for your loved one after they’ve suffered a brain injury, you will need to:
Get the facts – For many people, understanding what is actually happening with your loved one can make the process easier to handle. Having a complete picture will allow you to make educated decisions about your legal options, as well as the care and support your loved one needs.
Take care of yourself – If you don’t take care of yourself, you cannot provide the support your loved one needs to heal and adjust to any of the permanent changes that may occur after a brain injury. Take the time you need to take care of yourself.
Ask for help – After an accident, many people will come forward offering to help. Take advantage of these offers whenever you can and ask for help when you need it. Brain injuries can result in long term care needs for the injured individual, as a family member or caregiver, you will need outside support in order to help and care for your loved one.
Get some alone time – Before the accident that caused your loved one’s injury, you didn’t spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with them. Regardless of how much you love them or how much help they may need, as a caregiver, you need alone time now more than ever. Whenever possible, get some time away from your caregiving duties so that you can rest and recharge.
Get sleep – Lack of sleep leads to poor decision making as well as difficulty controlling our emotions. If you are responsible for caring for someone who has suffered a brain injury, they need you to be able to make good decisions on their behalf, so get some sleep and by taking care of yourself you are really taking care of them.
At the Ernst Law Group, we’ve represented brain injury victims for decades and have supported their family members and caregivers throughout the entire legal process. If your loved one has been injured in an accident, we are here to help. Call us today to learn how we can support you and can help get your loved one the compensation they deserve.
