You recently learned that your child has inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Now you’re taking an important step: learning about the condition, how it’s treated, and how your child can learn to live with IBD.
Although some parents do not want to be overloaded with information, others want to learn all they can about IBD and how it affects their child. To read on the latest IBD genetic testing news, click here.
Finding out as much as you can about IBD can help you build up confidence in yourself and your ability to respond to your child’s needs. It can also make you feel more able to discuss treatment and other issues with the doctor, as well as answer questions your child asks you.
It all seems like sound advice. However, as I reread the words above, my eyes focus on two words: Confidence and Ability.
And this is why …
I remember being on a family vacation. We had a mishap where my six-year-old son fell and injured his leg—a laceration to his knee, which resulted in stitches. Vacation fun came to a halt and we were off to the ER.
As my little boy laid on the hospital bed and screamed in pain, I was right there with him as the physician sewed a small part of his leg back together. I was with him physically, crouching down to his level and sustaining eye contact throughout. I was with him emotionally as I matched his distress note for note.
Simply put, it tore me up inside to see him in such pain. As we drove back to the hotel that night, we all felt the pleasure and relief of a quick return to normalcy.
I can’t help but think of how so many parents experience the heartbreak of seeing their kid in pain on a regular basis—without such ultimate relief.
My heart goes out to the parents of children who face severe medical challenges. Your love and care for your children is a testament to your strength and resolve to be there for your kids no matter what. Perhaps the parents of chronically ill children are modest, suggesting that it’s not necessarily amazing what they do—it’s my kid; I do what I have to do.
Although this may be true, I still believe this—parents of chronically ill children deserve an awful lot of respect for everything they do.
