Understanding Pain when You're Not the Patient: Helping Caregivers and Patients to Better Understand the Phases of Patient Recovery after the Hospital

I was born in 1957. In 1980, at the young age of 23, I was involved in a terrible car accident, on my way to work, that would forever change my life. Everything but my face, arms and back were damaged. My legs sustained the most punishment. There were thirteen major surgeries in the first four weeks. I was not expected to walk again, but through hard work I did, and I went back to work eight months later; however, this was my first introduction to requiring a home caregiver. I have never seen anything whose purpose is to help patients or caregivers. When accidents happen, they’re not preplanned. Patients feel things emotionally that they don’t understand. Caregivers don’t know what to do because they don’t know what their family member or friend is going through. I wanted to offer something to everyone involved in the rehab process. Having been a patient as well as a caregiver, I am extremely passionate on this issue. I know how having the wrong person as a caregiver can hinder rehabilitation. I know how understanding patients’ emotions can help rehabilitation.Foerster, Denise is the author of 'Understanding Pain when You're Not the Patient: Helping Caregivers and Patients to Better Understand the Phases of Patient Recovery after the Hospital', published 2007 under ISBN 9781424181186 and ISBN 1424181186.