Parenting can be very stressful. Whether a stay-at-home parent or a working parent, a single parent or a married parent, mother or father, parent of one child or several children, remaining cool, calm, and full of energy can help get us through the day. All true—for sure, but what about the parent that is caring and loving for a child with glomerulonephritis (GN)?
A parent who has to think about:
- What causes glomerulonephritis?
- What are its symptoms?
- How is it diagnosed?
- What’s the treatment?
If you happen to be such a parent, then this resource may give you some basic information to get you started on your journey with your child’s disease.
Like most parents, I was bombarded with advice when I adopted my first child. Relatives, friends, parenting books, and the ever-present internet all chimed in with conflicting “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” for getting my baby to sleep, eat, learn, and stay safe.
How’s a parent to sort all this?
But even more important, how is a parent with a child living with GN supposed to sort out their journey? Many rely on their doctor for a final word—a sensible strategy. But, what if parents are skeptical of medical advice?
Let’s be real here.
Doctors often rely on guidelines from professional organizations for information on what they should recommend for their patients or to parents.
This may be great; some recommendations are based on mountains of data. But sometimes, especially when you’re talking about a rare disease, these recommendations are based on shaky empiric evidence.
Glomerulonephritis is a rare type of kidney disease.
How much data and/or research really is available? Probably not much.
However, one word resonates in my head: VIGILANCE.
If your child has glomerulonephritis, you will have to be your child’s strongest advocate—everywhere and all the time.
How would I do it?
I’m thinking “Getting the Most Out of My Doctor’s Appointments” would be my starting point.
