Health Care Interview

C.G. is a close family friend of Nicole Castro. Nicole’s mother grew up with C.G. and although they are not biologically related, they are close. Nicole’s family is their closest support system besides their immediate family as the rest of their family lives in Prince George, British Columbia. C.G. lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and daughter. C.G. is close with her immediate family and relies on them for support. However, both her daughter and her husband are also living with chronic medicals condition making the family dynamic complex. Her daughter is a thirty-year-old medical doctor who also, like her mother, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Although her daughter is a support system for C.G., she tries to avoid talking to her about her illness as well as her husband’s because she does not want to put more stress and pressure on her than she already has. C.G’s spouse of thirty-one years was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. C.G’s husband is a great support system for her although there are times where he struggles with his own diagnosis and has to solely focus on himself. In these times, C.G relies on Nicole’s family for helpings hand and listening ears.

C.G’s perspective on health and her participatory relationships with health care professionals greatly differs. Since herself and all her immediate family member’s have to deal with their health concerns on a daily basis, her perspective on health is grim. She find it’s hard to focus on the good since her family has been dealt such a bad hand. Although she is not very positive on her situation or her families, she is willing to try anything to improve this mindset and her and her families’ health. C.G. has been dealing with rheuma...

... middle of paper ...

...pproximately a week, she is able to have three weeks a month where mobility is almost at one hundred percent. The CDMS strategies she has put in place to continue to be able to stay in the maintenance stage is being compliant with her medications although they come with severe side effects as well as maintaining her physical health my attended yoga sessions with people who are also beginners in her age group.

The implications for the change for the family member’s relationships with one another have been vast. Her husband initially had to take on a second job to support the family finically. However, once he too became sick, they had to learn to alter their lifestyle to fit a lower income. They also had to learn that although they are each other’s support system, they have to be able to focus on themselves and individuals in order to care for each other.