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Chronic Illness

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Significant yet not widely talked about, one of the greatest issues and stressors many families have to cope with is that of chronic illness. While the family that has to cope with a loved one’s battle with cancer or a traumatic car accident is at the forefront of the minds of all those close to them, coming up in conversation and the target of prayers and well wishes, families coping with chronic illness often fade into the background. Perhaps the reason individuals do not often hear of or think of those that are chronically ill or disabled is because after the shock of an initial diagnosis, the reality of chronic illness fades from people’s thoughts because it becomes a part of ordinary, everyday life. For the many families that deal with …show more content…

My grandmother became her primary caretaker, and after my birth, my primary caregiver. Pregnancy and childbirth greatly exacerbated my mother’s illness due to hormone levels and stress, so she was almost entirely incapacitated for the first few months of my life. This created additional responsibility in caring for me for my grandmother, and my aunt. As I grew older, my mother’s weakened immune system made it unsafe for me to stay in the house if I were sick, causing me to stay with my aunt frequently while getting over the flu or other childhood illnesses. This elevated her responsibility from an extended family member to a parent like figure. I also experienced different responsibilities from other children my age as I got older. For example, at age seven I began giving my mother the injections she needed every other day because after being allowed to try it once, it was found that I was able to do it more painlessly than my grandmother. Things like unloading my mother’s wheelchair, walker or scooter, and assembling it became second nature. I think my family would have felt less strain if we had had a greater support system outside of our family. While family involvement is essential in the success and wellness of a chronically ill person, outside support is essential for the …show more content…

I felt the full effect of my mother’s illness on my future plans after my grandmother’s death my senior year of high school. With the responsibility for my mother’s well being now solely my responsibility, it no longer seemed possible to go away for school, and after transferring to Dallas Baptist University, I am still only thirty five minutes away from my mother’s home. I find it difficult to plan for the future and live in the present, as encouraged in “Living as a Family in the Midst of Chronic Illness”, without also falling into fear of the future. I fear that in the future I will be called to a job in another city or state away from my mother, or that her health will deteriorate enough that she requires full time care. Knowing that my mother does have a shortened life expectancy, I feel a greater sense of guilt when I have not called or visited in awhile than the average college student. I have found that the best way to stay grounded in the present is through the appreciation of the health and independence my mother does have, and a hope and belief that God will provide for the

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