This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Relationships After TBI. Rosemary Rawlins, caregiver, discusses Treating Each Other with Love.

I think the practical things that made us come through this were that we respect each other very much and we kept that mind at all times. We never really want to hurt each other. And the one thing that both of us know is that you can never take words back; you know you can say you’re sorry if you say the wrong thing to someone, but you can’t take those words back. You’ve still hurt someone’s feelings.

And we both have been pretty careful in the way we communicate. And I think that really helped our relationship all the way through. Hugh’s always been extraordinarily respectful to me. He’s just a gentleman to me and he always was. And this didn’t change you know that aspect of his personality stayed in tact. So you know he thanks me a lot and you know he’s grateful and I’m grateful. So I think that mutual respect really, really does a lot for a relationship.

Well, you know we love each other. We have affectionate and we are very playful. We have a great time together. The whole family does. I think we are a very playful family. We love going to the beach and going hiking together and cooking food together. And holidays are fun. So just all of us are very tightly bound and you know we thrive on laughter and music. We play music all the time and dance in the kitchen. That’s why we have the big long floor it the kitchen with no breakfast bar. But I think that laughter is very important in a relationship, and certainly important in healing.

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