MCV/Q, Medical College of Virginia Quarterly
Orginal Publication Date
1972
Journal Title
MCV/Q, Medical College of Virginia Quarterly
Volume
8
Issue
3
First Page
171
Last Page
175
Abstract
In conclusion, by studying the emotional stress and the coping behavior of children with chronic physical illness, we can learn considerably about how these patients and their families learned to "play a poor hand well." In this regard it is noteworthy how often adolescent patients relate their good adjustment and positive outlook on life, despite their handicap, to their parents' early and consistent attempts to raise them with realistic and minimal restrictions. As one 16-year-old boy put it, as he was lying in bed receiving plasma infusion during a hemophilic bleeding episode, "Don't worry about the kids, Doc, but help the parents with their worries, so they can treat us like normal children." There is our challenge--to help the parents to readjust to the problems posed by their child's serious illness, to achieve a new family equilibrium, and to promote continuous family growth and integration.
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