Hoping you see this. One of my best friends in high school recently suffered an accident similar to yours about three months ago, he was snowboarding and broke his C7 after landing wrong. He has control of his arms but I believe he is still classified as quadrapaligic(sp). I'm going back home this summer and I'm hoping to see him frequently, the problem is that we were extremely active in our friendship together. Always hiking, swimming, biking or whatever. I'm not concerned that our friendship will suffer because he is no longer able to do these things, we are friends because he's a cool guy not because I needed a hiking buddy, BUT I'm genuinely nervous to see him because I'm not sure how to treat him. Should I ignore the wheelchair and pretend like nothing changed? Do I treat him carefully and try to cater to what he needs? I feel like if I completely ignore it he'll feel like I want to go back to "normal" and I definitely don't want him to feel that way. Can you give me some advice on how I can be the best friend I can be to him?
TL;DR: My good friend was paralyzed recently and I haven't seen him since before it happened. What is the best way act around him to make him feel comfortable when I go back home for summer?
kingmondayy179 karma
Hoping you see this. One of my best friends in high school recently suffered an accident similar to yours about three months ago, he was snowboarding and broke his C7 after landing wrong. He has control of his arms but I believe he is still classified as quadrapaligic(sp). I'm going back home this summer and I'm hoping to see him frequently, the problem is that we were extremely active in our friendship together. Always hiking, swimming, biking or whatever. I'm not concerned that our friendship will suffer because he is no longer able to do these things, we are friends because he's a cool guy not because I needed a hiking buddy, BUT I'm genuinely nervous to see him because I'm not sure how to treat him. Should I ignore the wheelchair and pretend like nothing changed? Do I treat him carefully and try to cater to what he needs? I feel like if I completely ignore it he'll feel like I want to go back to "normal" and I definitely don't want him to feel that way. Can you give me some advice on how I can be the best friend I can be to him?
TL;DR: My good friend was paralyzed recently and I haven't seen him since before it happened. What is the best way act around him to make him feel comfortable when I go back home for summer?
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