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How to Stay Sane When Your Child Is Hospitalized
Advice for parents after a devastating diagnosis
I hope you never get the news that my husband and I got when an emergency room physician, looking shaken and pale, told us that our child had cancer. I hope you never experience those frantic moments of trying to pack for a hospital stay with no idea how long it will last, or if your child will survive, or if your life as you know it will survive. I hope you never bring your child to the doctor for something you think is routine, only to find yourself in an ambulance being transported to a pediatric ICU many miles away from home.
If someday you do find yourself in a situation similar to the one my family faced back in August 2012, here is some advice to keep you sane. It’s advice I wish I’d had during those first days after my daughter’s diagnosis.
Remember to sleep
You’ll be making some very important decisions and taking in a lot of information over the coming days/weeks/months. It will be virtually impossible to process everything if you are sleep-deprived. I know you’re worried, and all the different scenarios running through your head make it difficult to rest, but sleep is critical for you right now.
