By Paola Mella Mena, psychologist Corporación Renal Infantil MATER.
When a diagnosis of a complex and chronic disease is received, there is a significant change in the dynamics of a family. Our index patient will have new needs and the family group will be faced with new challenges every day.
For families, the unstoppable transit between hospitals, exams and health personnel is exhausting. Everything changes, even the school, if there are more siblings, they will also be affected by this change, so having psychological support is key.
What recommendations or tips from psychology can be given to patients to incorporate when facing this type of disease?
Illnesses come just like that, when they affect our children we usually ask ourselves why me, when in reality there is no answer for it. However, the process has to be lived, sadness, anger, fear, each emotion must have its place. The secret of success is to learn to live differently, with new challenges. It is difficult, nobody can say otherwise, but my experience has taught me that it is possible, and it is always possible to rethink the ways of facing the disease, to trust in the medical team, to believe in the genuine interest that each member of this great family that is the Corporación Renal Infantil MATER has to be a grain of sand for our users and their families.
