The interdisciplinary team at TIRR worked together to prioritize the goals for Chitra since there was so much for her to learn and accomplish. The physical therapy program concentrated on increasing her strength and endurance so that she could move around in bed, transfer from bed to shower or car, maneuver on all kinds of surfaces in her wheelchair and essentially become independently mobile.
Because of Chitra’s limited hand function, initially TIRR occupational therapists worked with her on her fine-finger skills, typing and strengthening, and helped her regain more finger function.
They worked on activities of daily living, such as grooming, dressing and bathing. They also helped her find the ideal wheelchair for optimum posture support and skin protection, as well as easy and independent mobility.
Education played a key role in her rehabilitation. Participating in TIRR’s RAPS lecture series, Chitra learned about spinal cord injury, how to care for herself and what was available in assistive technology and community resources. She also was assigned a TIRR Peer, a person who had incurred a spinal cord injury years before and now volunteers to talk with patients more recently injured.
The TIRR Peer – coupled with individualized counseling and community resource access through her social worker – helped facilitate her adjustment to her new disability. After graduating from medical school, Chitra started her residency training in radiology at Baylor.
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