Victor's story : a seriously ill child's experiences of discomfort and comfort from being diagnosed with cancer to dying

• In this case study, the aim was to describe what comforted a seriously ill and finally dying child, here called Victor, as revealed by the child, his mother and his nurse. Content analysis was performed of analyses of conversations, field notes, drawings, interviews and comments on drawings. In the data comfort was often expressed as releasing extreme discomfort Victor experienced and accordingly four themes describing both discomfort and comfort were formulated in the analysis: Expressing feelings and becoming ready for comfort, Being in communion, Shifting perspective and Finding comfort in feeling at home. By expressing feelings through body language, crying and drawings Victor became ready for comfort and found it through feeling close to loved ones while sharing with them whatever was happening; through experiencing a trustful relationship with his nurse, transforming pressure into play, making plans for the future and maintaining his interests in nature; and through being at home, surrounded by his family’s love and concern. Based on these findings comfort for an ill and finally dying child is interpreted as being about providing the child with opportunities to express feelings in the way the child chooses, enabling the family to be close and involved in care, and supporting feelings of being at home and having a trustful relationship with a special nurse.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

case study

comfort

communion

dying child

mother

nurse

Nursing

Omvårdnad

omvårdnadsforskning med medicinsk inriktning

Caring Sciences

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)