How We View Individuals Matters
In 2015, on a trip to Cleveland for medical check-ups, Alex, Grace, and me stopped by our friend Scott’s to say hi. Larry was there to help Scott. THE WAY WE VIEW PEOPLE AFTER CATASTROPHIC INJURY CHANGES EVERYTHING One of the most important things I have learned over the years caring for my son Alex is that the way society and systems view a person after catastrophic injury profoundly shapes the life that person is then allowed to live. That realization has become impossible for me to ignore. Alex once said something to me that stopped me in my tracks: “You have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…unless you get injured.” Technically, of course, those rights do not disappear after injury. But Alex was identifying something very real. After catastrophic injury, people are often treated differently in ways that go far beyond medical care itself. The way systems interact with them changes. The assumptions about them change. The expectations for their lives...
