Imagine waking up every night when you are a young child crying for your mom to come. For several weeks, our youngest would cry out in the night for me. I would go to her room only to rush her to the bathroom so she could vomit. During the day she appeared to be happy and involved with her friends showing no other symptoms of being ill. We had been to the doctor and it was time to return. She was admitted to the hospital. The panic for me was not being able to get in touch with my husband to let him know what was happening. I was so touched when my best friend arrived at the hospital to be with me until my husband came. She was such a great support. From ultrasounds, to x-rays to a MRI, the doctors soon discovered what was wrong. From crying to holding my hand to screaming at the doctors, our daughter showed us how frightened she was during all of this. She would not let me out of her sight. This whole experience was nerve racking for us as parents and terrifying for our three year old. Our little hospital adventure was short lived (thankfully). I cannot imagine how parents and children cope with repeated hospital stays due to a child with leukemia or cancer. Thank goodness for family and friends! As a result of this experience, our daughter is more anxious about things than her sister.
I lived in Australia for a short time and absolutely loved my time there. My good friend from Australia recently visited me; therefore I was curious about Australia. Australia is very similar to Canada and the U.S. in that there is fear of natural disasters (most recently the flood in Queensland) and bushfires. Similarly children in Australia have other stressors such as parents working longer hours and financial stress for example. According to the one article, Australians activity level is decreasing. More Australians are experiencing stress related problems due to their sedentary life style (Thomas, 2006). I learned that Australia has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in the world (Thomas, 2006). Alcohol and drug disorders are also increasing. Anxiety disorders are common (adults). Overall, Australia appeared to have very similar stressors as Canada and the U.S. and appear to have supports for families who need it.
Thomas, P. (2006) Stress in Early Childhood: Helping children and their carers Retrieved October 1, 2011, from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/pdf/special_titles/stress_in_early_childhood.pdf
Tamara,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the terrifying ordeal at the hospital it happened to me with my youngest daughter. The school nurse called because my daughter was just laying her head on the desk which was not like her. I picked her up and decided to take her to the doctor just as a precaution. I had just walked in the office and she vomited blood all over everywhere. They rushed us in the back and then straight to the Gastroentologist office next door. She has lost so much blood they admitted her to the hospital the started giving her a blood transfusion. I was panicking my husband could not get to the hospital guick enough. She ended up having surgery because she had a bleeding ulcer in her stomach. To this day we do not know what caused the ulcer in my 5 year old. She is beautiful and healthy thank God for his blessing.
That is an interesting story. It's funny that you don't know a culture until you actually go and live there. Curiously thinking, have you ever visited the rainforest? I hear it's beautiful as well as deadly. I would love to visit Peru so I can go to Machu Pichu.
ReplyDelete