Between cultural ideals and lived realities: a longitudinal rehabilitation narrative after spinal cord injury

PurposeThis study aimed to unfold one person's long-term rehabilitation processMaterials and methodsBased on narratology, this study configured a rehabilitation narrative from a young woman's lived rehabilitation experiences after spinal cord injury and her experiences with healthcare and social services. Interviews were conducted at 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 months, 2, 5 and 10 years after her accident.ResultsThe process of resuming everyday life after spinal cord injury unfolded as a narrative shaped by lived experiences of disability and encounters with healthcare and social services. This narrative was characterised by a never-ending series of shifts between restoration and loss of capacity and function. This reflects that the narrative of the rehabilitee's attaining a meaningful life despite that permanent physical limitations may be a continuing struggle. If the rehabilitee's hopes and expectations deviate strongly from the support and services provided, tensions and frustrations may arise, potentially affecting the rehabilitation process and its outcome.ConclusionsA rehabilitee's narrative is shaped by its context and the involved participants. Unfolding over time it illuminates challenges arising from misalignments between the rehabilitee's lived experience of life-changing health issues and the perspectives of healthcare and social service professionals.