chronic illness

Behind the Scenes
Sixty percent of deaths worldwide come from chronic illnesses (“Reducing Chronic Diseases”). No news can be more disheartening for a parent than finding out his or her child has been diagnosed with a chronic illness. For the child, it’s a loss of his or her health, quality of life, and dreams. For the parent, it’s a loss of mental and emotional stability, a normal life, and hope for a promising future. For the siblings, it’s a loss of time, love, and support from their parents. Not only is it a loss of health, but it might also mean a loss of life. Most people think chronic illness only affects the ill child, but it changes the dynamics of the entire family as well.
The effect that chronic illness has on a child is life changing, both physically and mentally. They are supposed to attend school and lead a normal life while being required to attend the hospital frequently and receive painful treatment. These are conflicting activities and cause children that are chronically sick to be at risk when it comes to intellectual, emotional, and social development. Chronically ill children are forced to miss school and other extra curricular activities while they are receiving treatment; this is where social and intellectual skills would be developed. My sister was diagnosed three years ago with a chronic illness. She is now eighteen years old, but socially and intellectually tests place her three years behind where she should be. She is preparing to go to college, but probably needs another three years of high school. Chronic illness is life altering and affects the sick child more than doctors, parents, and teachers understand, but
The first disadvantage of having a chronically ill child is the lack of control parents have over their child’s illness. Parents have control over most choices their children make, such as what time they go to bed, what kind of food they eat, and how well they do in school, but when it comes to chronic illness,