Five Different Lives after Suffering from Spinal Cord Injury: The Experiences of Nurses Who Take Care of Spinal Cord Injury Patients
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Background
3. Purpose of the Study
4. Research Design
4.1. Study Method and Procedure
4.2. Data Analysis
4.3. Ethical Considerations
5. Results
5.1. Demographic Information
5.2. Dramatic Changes in Life
“When I was a new nurse, my deepest impression was of a young man who is the main breadwinner of his family. He was cycling and then suddenly flew out and injured his cervical spine and became paralyzed.”
“A female patient underwent surgery for herniated lumbar intervertebral disc. The cause of paraplegia is incomplete spinal cord injury. In her old photographs, she wore a cheongsam. It has been 7 years and she still has not got over it.”
5.3. Life Lost Control
“After surgery, we returned to the intensive care unit. After wake up (from the surgery), I found that he (she) had no sensation in the lower half of the body. When the patient could not be taken off the ventilator even with respiratory training, it caused him (her) to become even more depressed, and the patient committed suicide by biting on the (endotracheal) tube.”
“When care was provided at the acute phase, his (her) progress during spinal cord injury was slow. I continuously gave him (her) support. When I felt that he (she) is not moving, I kept encouraging him (her).”
“At the start, everybody wants to save his (her) life. After he (she) has been saved, muscle power in the four limbs does not remain that good. We spent 2 h helping him (her) move his (her) hands and feet.”
“I was previously placed in the intensive care unit where many patients were unable to accept the fact that they were quadriplegic or hemiplegic. These patients were intubated with endotracheal tubes and relied on the phonetic board for communication, which took a lot of time. I had to not only flip them over but also spend time communicating. This is because the patients do not know what is happening. I should at least let the patient know what has happened to them and the doctor’s treatment plan for them.”
5.4. Life after Catastrophic Injury
“How do patients rehabilitate? I see that they grab things and train grip strength. For legs, I sometimes see that they kick a ball or roll logs. We only hope that their joint muscles do not contract.”
“At the start, the entire body is relaxed. You channel the entire body’s strength to the right leg and slowly meditate such that the strength is then channeled to the right leg. Unexpectedly, this was successful on one day. Finally, the patient could walk by themselves using a walker.”
5.5. On the Other Hand, Nurse Practitioner I Mentioned
“Spinal cord injury requires multiple psychological aspects and levels of rehabilitation during rehabilitation. This also applies to family members. Actually, both family and sexual rehabilitation are also important. However, Taiwan is not so advanced and liberal, and only few people discuss such problems.”
5.6. Life Takes Turns for the Worse for Family
“He is a fruit farmer who accidentally fell from a tree and became paralyzed. He is optimistic because his family members are optimistic. He told his wife that there is no need to save him as their children are unmarried and this will consume their family’s finances. He is also concerned whether his children’s future partners will be able to accept their family.”
“Rehabilitation requires us to carry the patient up and down, and family members will have to follow the nurse to learn about all this. If there are sudden events, we will tell him (her) to hire a caretaker so that they can rest for a few days. Some people have financial problems and are unable to hire a caretaker. In this case, social workers will take care of this.”
“Most family members are unable to accept the condition. After some time, anger may occur. This can be so because rehabilitation may not be as optimistic as they have imagined or their understanding of the disease may be insufficient.”
5.7. The Power of Rebirth
“Tips can be shared between patients and family members. The focus of care for everybody is different. Letting patients know that other patients also experience similar things may make them feel better on the inside.”
“I feel that for clinical recommendations, there are many patient associations in Taiwan. Providing information on these patient associations to family members at suitable times will help diminish the feeling of “why me?” in their minds.”
6. Discussion
6.1. Dramatic Changes in Life
6.2. Life Lost Control
6.3. Life after Catastrophic Injury
6.4. Life Takes Turns for the Worse for Family
6.5. The Power of Rebirth
7. Strengths and Limitations
8. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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S/N | Sex | Age | Marital Status | Religion | Education Level | Number of Years of Clinical Nursing Experience | Number of Years of Experience in Caring for Spinal Cord Injuries | Current Clinical Unit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | Female | 27 | Single | Taoist | University | 4 | 4 | Neurosurgery intensive care unit |
B | Female | 34 | Married | Buddhist | University | 14 | 9 | Organ coordinator (neurosurgery intensive care unit, general surgery intensive care unit) |
C | Female | 33 | Married | Taoist | University | 10 | 10 | Hospice case manager (neurosurgery intensive care unit) |
D | Female | 34 | Married | Taoist | University | 14 | 13 | Internal medicine ward |
E | Female | 26 | Single | Taoist | University | 2 | 2 | Neurosurgery intensive care unit |
F | Female | 36 | Married | Taoist | University | 16 | 16 | Rehabilitation ward |
G | Female | 39 | Married | Free thinker | University | 16 | 16 | Rehabilitation ward |
H | Female | 38 | Married | Free thinker | Junior college | 15 | 15 | Rehabilitation ward |
I | Female | 40 | Married | Free thinker | University | 20 | 20 | Rehabilitation ward (Nurse practitioner) |
J | Female | 38 | Married | Taoist | University | 14 | 14 | Rehabilitation ward |
K | Female | 40 | Married | Free thinker | Junior college | 18 | 18 | Case manager (neurosurgery intensive care unit, respiratory care center) |
L | Male | 23 | Single | Christianity | University | 3 | 3 | Neurosurgery ward |
M | Female | 33 | Married | Free thinker | University | 11 | 11 | Neurosurgery ward |
N | Female | 35 | Married | Free thinker | University | 15 | 15 | Chronic respiratory care ward |
O | Female | 30 | Married | Free thinker | University | 10 | 10 | Case manager (was previously in neurosurgery intensive care unit) |
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Wang, S.-Y.; Hong, S.-R.; Tan, J.-Y. Five Different Lives after Suffering from Spinal Cord Injury: The Experiences of Nurses Who Take Care of Spinal Cord Injury Patients. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1058. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031058
Wang S-Y, Hong S-R, Tan J-Y. Five Different Lives after Suffering from Spinal Cord Injury: The Experiences of Nurses Who Take Care of Spinal Cord Injury Patients. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(3):1058. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031058
Chicago/Turabian StyleWang, Shou-Yu, Shih-Ru Hong, and Jung-Ying Tan. 2022. "Five Different Lives after Suffering from Spinal Cord Injury: The Experiences of Nurses Who Take Care of Spinal Cord Injury Patients" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 3: 1058. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031058