Taking Precautions
Most of us have figured out how to live without walking, or how to open a water-bottle without a hand that can grip. But the daunting task remains: how do we stay well? How do we take care of infections, pressure sores and, as we age, the breakdown of parts of our body, such as hands, arms, shoulders, that suffer from overuse.
Preventing secondary conditions means doing our best to prevent undue stress on our body and internal organs. We can easily scratch our legs and not notice, or have a sore we do not feel. Therefore, taking the time to check our skin daily becomes essential.
We can take a number of precautions to lessen secondary conditions, but one critical item that can’t be over-stressed is making sure to keep health care providers informed and involved. Working with your health providers lessens potential problems and helps to identify those that occur sooner, allowing for early intervention.
Good health management benefits everyone: it benefits you; it benefits your family; and it alerts your health professionals that you take your health care seriously. Be well; be as active as you can be.
Clair Russell Hesselton, PhD
Chairman of the Board
Good Health Is Independence
United Spinal Association’s mission is to assist members to achieve their highest degree of independence and attain maximum quality of life. Unfortunately, these goals can be jeopardized by acute secondary conditions of spinal cord impairment, such as pressure sores; or by chronic secondary conditions, such as pain, spasticity or incontinence if they’re left untreated.
United Spinal has long-recognized the impact of secondary conditions on our members’ quality of life. To combat the problem, we helped establish the Center of Excellence for the Medical Consequences of Spinal Cord Injury at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx. Dr. William Bauman and his team of researchers are working diligently to improve quality of life by eliminating or managing secondary conditions.
Learn about secondary conditions and become diligent about monitoring your overall health for early signs of a looming problem. Seek early medical attention. Each secondary condition depletes your quality of life and threatens your independence.
On a sadder note, United Spinal has lost two long-time friends in the last month. Please see our tribute to Al Youakim and to Cliff Crase here. We thank them both for their life and service and wish them eternal rest.
Paul J. Tobin
President and CEO
