Ken and Melissa had been high school sweethearts with marriage following his basic training in the Marines. Two children and a new house followed in the next three years. Despite the usual irritants and money issues, they felt they had a great marriage. Melissa was even handling his deployment to Afghanistan, becoming part of the tight support system of wives and families in a similar situation. That was until an exploding IED ripped through Ken's legs. He was now in a military rehabilitation center, learning to walk with his new artificial legs and adjusting to his new reality. When he looked around the hospital he considered himself fortunate in that he could still kiss his wife, hold his children, and interact with them from a thinking and emotional standpoint. As hard a time as he was having adjusting, he knew that his brain injured comrades were struggling to recognize their families and may never be able to live by themselves. He never mentioned it to Melissa, but at night when the lights were off and it was quiet, he often wondered if Melissa would stay with him? Would their marriage survive this horrible event and would Melissa love the "new" Ken the way she had the "old" one?
Building Relationships
As a neurologist who specializes in neurorehabilitation I have treated thousands of patients who have faced the same concerns as Ken. Disabilities come in all forms and with different challenges. A spinal cord injury or amputation will result in dramatic physical changes but usually leave the person cognitively intact, while a brain injury or stroke not only causes physical disabilities, but also causes cognitive and behavioral disabilities that can substantially change the person.
Many years ago I heard a quote attributed to Barry Rath Ph.D., a neuropsychologist in Texas. "That which makes us most human is most vulnerable to brain injury." We form relationships based upon unique bonds and attractions to each other. Unfortunately, I have had many a parent tell me that they loved their brain injured son or daughter and would care for them, but they were taking a stranger home from the hospital. The same is true for a spouse who now becomes the caregiver for someone who is very different than the person they had been living with. Over 40 years ago my wife fell in love with me and we decided to marry. Trust me, I suspect there is a lot about me that she is not particularly happy about, but she is still in love with some portion that brings a smile to her face. If I have a brain injury, stroke or become demented and that special part she fell in love with disappears, she is left with only the parts that are annoying or difficult to deal with. You can see the problem.
I decided to ask my friend and the psychologist at our Rehabilitation Hospital, Hal Hoine Ph.D. to talk with me about what makes for a good relationship and whether we can predict who will weather the storm of a disability and stay together. For simplicity sake I will refer to all forms of opposite and same sex partnerships/marriages as relationships.
It quickly became clear that all relationships are a balance between what you like and don't like in the relationship. Dr. Hoine notes that when he sees couples in counseling he may refer to the "cost equation" of staying together versus splitting up. It applies to every aspect of the relationship: physical, emotional, financial, children, social pressures etc. Take the benefit of staying together and subtract the "cost" of staying together. Then look at the benefit of splitting up and subtract the cost of splitting up. Relationships take work and having a disability can unbalance the equation. If dealing with the disability is difficult, it may be too hard to work on both the relationship and the disability. I have had many a person say to me, "I didn't sign up for this." No one "signs up" to be a caregiver, but it happens.
Relationships Fall Apart Because Of:
The Impact Of A Disability
Disabilities break down the basic structures of relationships. Roles may be reversed overnight with the woman becoming the bread winner or the man becoming the homemaker. These are traditional roles and it can easily be the opposite where a woman is forced to put a career on hold or abandon it altogether. We typically talk about how brain injury, stroke or dementia will exaggerate a person's preexisting personality traits. A difficult, short tempered and impulsive individual becomes just that much worse as a result of the disability. However, we also need to look at it from the caregiver's point of view. A nurturing partner is more likely to do well and adapt more easily than someone who is more self centered. The disability places increasing demands on the relationship.
The common wisdom had been that the divorce rate was higher after someone has a brain injury. However, a recent article, "The Truth About Divorce After Brain Injury," notes that in a study of 120 brain injury survivors, 75 percent were still married at the time of follow up.
Important predictors were:
A Relationship Checklist
Dr Hoine and I sat down and created an unscientific checklist that you can use to evaluate your relationship and how it might weather the storm of a disability. We can tell you from the experience, that these storms are not predictable and show up at your front door both unexpected and unannounced.
Just writing this article made me think differently about things; hopefully it will do the same for you.
Follow Richard C. Senelick, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RichardSenelick
Matt Wilson: How To Know If You Should (Or Shouldn't) Work From Home
Disability - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Disability.gov: Connecting the Disability Community to Information ...
I hope this article helps to raise people's awareness of the pressures on a relationship when one partner becomes disabled.
Toni Bernhard
http://www.howtobesick.com
I felt compelled to reply to you, not to gloat and say how wonderful things are for me but, to hopefully offer a little encouragement. There are patient, kind and tolerant people out there who will value you for your abilities and not your disabilities. I would be wondering if it hadn't been through injury and illness if your relationship would be okay. In my experience, the chances are that if someone lacks understanding or are angered by things outwith their control, tensions will often arise without much prompting. I really wish you all the best whatever the outcome - it sounds like you deserve happiness in your life.
F+F by the way.
So naturally it depends on the kind of injury/disability. When someone becomes mentally disabled, its perfectly reasonable to end a romantic relationship in my opinion. On the other hand, it was be kind of terrible to end a serious relationship for something like becoming wheelchair bound (though we shouldn't forget the stress that the partner goes through).
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!
(takes a moment to breathe)
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
Thank you for that, I needed a good laugh this morning. Are you a comedian? Because that was a good one!
We're going on our 24th anniverasry, and the love that was there on day one is as strong, if not stronger, today.
We are both very fortunate. We will celebrate our 33rd anniversary shortly.
I am so tired of my fibromyalgia and not being able to do anything, so tired of feeling that I am losing me BUT then I look and think about all the lessons I have learned because of it and I am grateful for those gifts.
Best wishes to you llisa, as always :-)
But seriously, we have met some wonderful people through all of this, and my daughter has a terrific husband who knew about all her medical problems and her infertility (due to the tumor that messed up her pituitary) and loves her "anyway" (as she says). And their beautiful little girl's adoption is about to be finalized. My daughter always said she would make the life she wanted in spite of the obstacles, and that is just what she is doing. She's been an inspiration to us.
Best wishes to you, too! We'll just play the cards we're dealt, but we'll play them well!
his wife was friends w/ my mother...and the 2 kids were our buddies.
when he came back from war...after months at Walter Reed..he was in a wheelchair. their house was remodeled.........for wheelchair access.. the car was redesigned also.
2 year later...........the wife and kids were gone.
that is all i know about this.
I'd stay with my fiancée; I love her.