Taking Care of Yourself

It’s easy to view self-care as a low priority when your child is diagnosed with a serious illness. Your role as a parent and parenting partner has unexpectedly changed. The child has urgent and complex medical needs; you must manage appointments and service providers, and learn new information about disease and medical treatment—all while tending to the needs of other family members, work and/or other responsibilities. Making time for yourself may be the first thing to go. But if you don’t see to your own physical and emotional needs, it will become much more difficult to manage all of your responsibilities.