Chronic Illness: Family Case Study

Donna R. Falvo, refers to the term chronic as “symptoms that last indefinitely and are attributed to a case that may or may not be able to identified”. With this said, people who suffer from a chronic illness go for long periods of time in pain with possibly no answer. Chronic illness has the ability to alter an individuals everyday life with consequnces that can be considered severe. It is also recognized that many of the health impacts clients living with chronic illness face, extend to ones family. Whether it be financial burdens, caretaker burn out or simply stress, it is almost inevitable that some impact from the chronic illness will affect surrounding family members. In this paper I will discuss my clients chronic illness, how they
I first asked KN and MF their definition of family. KN described this term as people who love and support you no matter what. MF defined family as people who you grew up with. With this, I understood that family goes beyond just blood relatives for these two but is extended to people who are there for you and ones that have a strong connection with. I then explored the concept of health. KN defined health as a person without a mental/physical condition, and MF defined health as a state of not being sick. This allowed me have an understanding that both partners in the relationship identified KN not being a state of health. Furthermore, the couple defined ‘chronicity’. KN defined this as excruciating pain that never goes away and that it is absolutely ridiculous. MF’s definition was pain that doesn’t go away. From this, it is clear that KN has very upset/frustrated feelings toward her chronic pain that she deals with
KN and MF fall into the sixth stage of intimacy vs. isolation (ages 18-40). Erickson describes that during this stage of life, “we explore relationships leading toward longer term commitments with someone other than a family” (McLeod, 2013). In this stage, a comfortable relationship including love and safety will be accomplished however on the other hand, one can avoid intimacy and fear relationships, which can lead to depression, loneliness and isolation (McLeod, 2013). Due to the fact that KN is usually in an ideal amount of pain, her chronic illness plays a major role in this couples relationship. This illness is constantly taking a toll on KN’s everyday life, especially the physical aspects. KN finds herself usually tired for she is frequently up during the night due to pain and stress. The effects of lack of sleep/change in sleep partners can cause a variety of things such as: anxiety, confusion, compromised/ineffective copying, fatigue, disturbed sensory perception (Potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall, 2014). KN also expressed to me that she feels little willingness to go out and exercise and be active due to being tired, depression and catching up on house work that she isn’t able to complete when the pain is to much to handle. This can play a huge roll on ones view of their body image causing depression, self-insecurities and lack of engagement in physical