One of the most frequently asked questions by parents is: How to make relevant decisions based on the child’s condition?
The academic community believes that in order to make the best decision, you need to understand the concept of basic state. The best choice can be made according to the different basic conditions and possible expectations.
Many parents take care of their children wholeheartedly and have no time to sit down and sort out their thoughts and make long-term plans. Therefore, such a guide is of great positive significance. If you need the pdf edited version, you can send me a private message.
After some diseases are diagnosed, the doctor will tell you clearly the next evolution of the disease, so you know what will happen. But in many cases, doctors do not know how the child’s condition will evolve, and even cannot predict life span. In fact, caring for a child with a life-threatening illness is a process of learning to accept and deal with uncertainty.
Basic state is a new term used to describe a child’s stable state, as opposed to “rapid change”. As the disease evolves, the basic state will continue to change. Usually, the basic state will continue to decline like a step-down, and decline means that the body’s functions are regressed and gradually loses function. Although there are repetitions, the overall decline is until the end of life.
Why can understanding basic status help you?
Understanding the concept of basic state can help you understand how your child’s condition evolves and observe some patterns. As your child’s needs become more and more complex, the decisions you need to make become more and more complex, and the priorities of many things will also change. Understanding your child’s basic state and how it changes can help you consider and prepare for these upcoming changes.
“My child’s basic condition is different from a year ago. She is no longer able to go to school. The most important thing for us is to make her more comfortable at home and allow friends to visit her as much as possible.”
Keeping abreast of your child’s new basic state will help you consider new goals for caring for your child and the choices (including medical treatments) you need to make in order to achieve these goals.
Now my child often aspirates when eating, and more and more pneumonia. We realize how important feeding is. Considering her life expectancy and our goals, we are wondering if we will install a feeding Tube can help us reach our goals.”
Changes in the child’s overall health may occur quietly and slowly or may be masked by more drastic changes. Generally speaking, there are three classic disease evolution processes. In addition, choosing cleaning services that use safe, organic products will certainly be a benefit in many ways.
Determine the evolution of your child’s disease
Changes in the child’s overall health may occur quietly and slowly, or they may be masked by more drastic changes. It is possible that parents have not noticed the changes in their children’s physical function or intelligence, and sometimes it is cruel for parents to keep paying attention to these changes.
It is more helpful to stop periodically to check your child’s condition and ask yourself what has changed. A better way is to do this together with the doctor, for example, to analyze and compare the results.
Issues worth considering:
- How has the child’s situation this month changed from 6 months ago and 1 year ago?
- After the sudden symptoms, has the child recovered to the previous basic state?
- How much time in the day is the child in a comfortable and happy state? How about 1 year ago?
- How much time in the day does the child feel uncomfortable and unhappy? How about 1 year ago?
- In the past 6 months, how many times has the child been seriously ill? What about 1 year ago and 2 years ago?
- Has the child’s sleep time increased compared with the past?
- Does the child have the ability to participate in activities that make him/her happy?
- Has the whole family made many changes to adapt to the child’s situation?
Use basic state to help make big decisions
Every change in the basic state brings new challenges. You will feel sad when you adjust to the decline in your child’s health, but this is also a starting point to consider your new goal: the quality of life of your child at this stage, and how to accomplish your new goal.
Sometimes we don’t have a lot of time to think about what is right or what factors will help. For example, acute events may require you to make difficult decisions quickly. Therefore, understanding the basic state of a child is a very effective way.
Some issues worthy of your consideration
It is important to communicate with your child’s doctor. Although all these questions may seem painful, your answers will help you understand what is the best solution for your child and how to look forward.
- If the child survives this crisis, how can he recover? Do you need many treatments? For example, the placement of nasal tubes.
- When the child passes the recovery period, what is his new basic state? What is the goal of nursing now?
- How serious will the future crisis be? How can we make children more comfortable?
When you consider a treatment option:
- Will this scheme affect other body functions? (For example, spinal surgery, feeding tube)
- How will the child’s health affect the recovery time?
- What is the child’s new basic state?
- If we do not take such measures, how will the child’s condition evolve?
Communicate with friends and family about the child’s new basic state
When your basic state changes, sharing your new goals with people around you is effective because they can understand what is important to you. The following sentence patterns can be used:
Our expectations for children are:
Our highest priority now is for him/her to continue to be able to.
Where do we need help?
Conclusion
A basic state is a form of facing reality. This can be painful and even scary. On the other hand, understanding your child’s basic state and adjusting strategies at any time will allow you to better control the situation. You can understand basic status as a tool to help you make decisions more confidently and take better care of your children.