Hopeless. Alone. Overwhelmed. Broken.
These are just a few words to describe the thoughts racing through the mind of a victim of a spinal cord or traumatic brain injury, as well as, their family. There are over 1.3 million families affected throughout the United States by spinal cord injuries alone.
When tragedy strikes, many emotions and challenges consume the family unit. Besides the obvious individual directly affected by the experienced trauma, the entire family is emotional and financially impacted by this life changing event.
Hopeless. Alone. Overwhelmed. Broken.
These are just a few words to describe the thoughts racing through the mind of a victim of a spinal cord or traumatic brain injury, as well as, their family. There are over 1.3 million families affected throughout the United States by spinal cord injuries alone.
When tragedy strikes, many emotions and challenges consume the family unit. Besides the obvious individual directly affected by the experienced trauma, the entire family is emotional and financially impacted by this life changing event.
There are numerous foundations that have touched many people’s lives. Most of these focus on either the victim or the victim’s family, but not both at the same time. This is one of the many things that set The Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation apart from other organizations. We realize the importance of helping and rebuilding the entire family as a whole.
There are many stages during the grieving process. For this reason, Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation has broken its assistance into three main categories:
Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation is there to lend help from the initial onset of illness or injury. This is an extremely difficult time for the entire family. The impact of the illness or injury has not completely set in. There are many feelings consuming the entire family.
Our Care Team delivers care packages that include such things as snacks, inspirational and devotional books, educational materials about the current experience, and something as simple as a roll of quarters for the vending machines. It may not sound like much. However, these little gifts let the family know that they are not alone. It lets the family know that there are not only people who care about them, but know what they are going through.
Grief Counseling is also provided at no charge for patients as well as their families. Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation continues to expand its national network of grief counselors and pastors trained to provide families hope in their time of need.
Returning home after an extended hospital stay can be the hardest adjustment of all. Being back in a familiar setting often times is when the severity of the tragedy sinks in and physical limitations become more evident. Gone are the structural comforts of the hospital environment where doctors and nurses vigorously worked to care for the victim. The load now rests with the family.
The home surroundings are the same as they had left them, but the person is different. Depression can set in, only further complicating the situation. Homes are generally not designed with a wheelchair user in mind. In a lot of cases, the wheelchair will not fit through bedroom and bathroom doorways. In some cases, they will not fit into the front door of the house. And of course most houses have steps. Their once inviting home seems all but a distant memory.