Impact of Illness on a family
It always feels like the whole family is grieving when a member of the family contracts a chronic disease, especially one that is incurable. No one ever plans to be chronically ill. Therefore, it usually feels like a bomb is dropped on a family when one of them is diagnosed with a sickness that will kill him/her.
This is where intense caregiver challenges rear its ugly head. Remember, a caregiver is a person that takes care of an old or ill person – in this case, a chronically ill person. A caregiver might not necessarily be related to the patient, but the impact of illness is doubled if the caregiver is related to the patient. The effect of disease on a family, if not well handled, may cause lasting adverse effects. These effects may be emotional, psychological, and even economical.
Although these effects are usually on the negative side, a lot of families have gone through some improvements due to the chronic illness of one of their own. Shocking, right? The chronic disease of a family member may be the call-to-Jesus moment that a family needs to draw closer to each other. A lot of people have testified that the chronic illness of someone related to them drew them closer…