The nurse is caring for a client who has a moderate head injury. The client's sister asks, "Will my brother return to his normal functioning level when his brain heals?" How does the nurse re-spond?
a. "You should expect a full recovery in all ways by the time of discharge."
b. "Usually, someone with this type of injury returns to baseline within 6 months."
c. "Your brother may experience many changes in personality and cognitive abili-ties."
d. "Learning complex new skills may be more difficult, but you can expect other functions to return to normal."
C
Those with moderate to severe head injuries are never the same as before the injury. They can experience changes in cognition such as memory loss, difficulty learning new information, and limited concentration. Personality alterations such as outbursts of temper and depression also may occur. The other responses do not correctly answer the question and can give false hope.
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