After another rush to the emergency department again, it’s clear that what ‘my child has..’ is not going away anytime soon and it is going to be a part of our lives for the next few years. Anything as simple as a cold or virus could mean a hospital stay for my 3yo. During this most recent, thankfully, shorter stay –I thought I would reflect on some things I am learning going through this testing time.
In hospital, hours can seem like minutes or they can seem like days. The majority of the time I spent crying, this could probably be attributed to the lack of sleep and the feeling of helplessness and fear of not knowing and not being able to control what is happening.
I am also grieving the ‘normality’, the simplicity and order of things as they were, just 5 weeks ago, is now gone. Life during this testing time is going to be a daily battle, a constant concern and at times a real juggling act with my two older children.
It is the sense of responsibility that weighs heavily and it is in this testing time that I have to learn through and from experience. I have to somehow, according to my doctor, be able to predict how my son is going to be in the next 12 hours – like a weatherman I guess. However, with no instruments and no previous experience or training. Only my instincts which currently aren’t “in tune” as well as I would like them to be, a little overloaded by emotions and met with only bits of information that don’t quite all fit together yet. There is no program to follow, no security and at times it feels out of my control. Feels?, it is out of my control.
So far I am learning:
Lesson 1: I have to take one day at a time – not planning too far ahead because I don’t know if something will come up unexpectedly.
Lesson 2: Expect the unexpected, expect that not everything is going to go according to plan or how I would like it to be.
Lesson 3: It’s ok to feel uncertain and unsure, I am learning as I go and hopefully and thankfully I have supportive people around me.
Lesson 4: Take offers of help, very important and make contingency plans, this I can control.
Lesson 5: Continue to look for positives – yes I have worries but I have faith too and that is where strength, resolution and wisdom comes from.
A Testing Time
Parent with Potential
●
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Search
Popular Posts
Labels
action
add
adhd
anger
angry child
anxiety
attitude
bands
behavior
behaviour
blogging
book
boys
bullying
busy
change
child
child behaviour
children
choice
choices
communication
connecting
decision
development
difference
discipline
dog
effective
emotional
emotions
experience
food allergies
friendship
fun
girls
giveaway
holidays
imagination
journey
kids
language
laugh
lazy
learning
lesson
looms
love
negative
normal
parent child relationship
parenting
parents
personal
personality
pets
positive
praise
preschool
preschooler personality
proactive
quality time
relationships
role play
school
self esteem
solutions
strategies
stress
tailored strategies
talking
tantrums
teens
therapy
time
time management
toilet training
toileting
travel
treatment
tutor
visual
youtube
1 comments:
I have a very close friend who has just found out her 4yo has leukemia. This beautifully written post of yours has really helped give an insight into her experiences of the last two weeks in and out of hospital.
She has asked us all to look at the positives as our positive attitudes help her and her family maintain a positive attitude also.
Post a Comment