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Book Cover for: Spinal Cord Injury: : A Guide to Life, Orlei Barbosa

Spinal Cord Injury: : A Guide to Life

Orlei Barbosa

This book is about the story of the author who, at the age of 39, suffers a traffic accident and suddenly finds himself quadriplegic, detailing his visions and challenges of his new condition.
Many people, like the author before his injury, tend to think that a wheelchair user's main challenge is the inability to move their legs. However, this view ignores a number of other complications, such as neurogenic bladder, neurogenic bowel, bouts of postural hypotension, or even the inability to regulate body temperature, sometimes not feeling hot or cold. It is important to understand that each injury is unique. Two individuals with injuries at the same height of the cervical spine may have completely different responses and bodily functions, especially in the case of incomplete injuries.
Therefore, when you see a wheelchair user using their priority right in a queue, it is essential not to judge or look away. The time that a wheelchair user has before suffering the consequences of a urinary system dysfunction, for example, can be much more critical than for a person without this condition.
Human empathy is essential, but it only occurs with a minimum of knowledge about the implications of a spinal cord injury. This was one of the reasons that led me to write this book: to share my journey and present the daily challenges of quadriplegia. Another important point I hope to convey is that, for both the newly injured person and their family, life does not end with the injury. It all depends on how you choose to see your own half-filled glass, whether as almost full or as almost empty.
This is a book that I wish I had had on hand when I suffered my injury, because I would have understood sooner the challenges that awaited me and realized that there is, indeed, a light at the end of the tunnel. It is a work to be read calmly and reflectively, as in addition to narrating the events he experienced, he also shares the thoughts and feelings that each challenge has raised over the years. The book ends with a practical guide on the effects of spinal cord injury on the body.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Independently Published
  • Publish Date: Jan 3rd, 2024
  • Pages: 120
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.25in - 0.38lb
  • EAN: 9798873856275
  • Categories: Memoirs