How do you persuade the reluctant parents of a terminally ill child and the child herself to talk openly with each other about the condition? A palliative care nurse describes her dilemma.
Parents and children often want to protect each other when a child has a terminal illness.
There was a girl I met when working as a nurse in a children's hospice. She must have been 12 or 13 when she was referred to us. Her condition meant she had to be regularly fed artificial food and anti-bodies intravenously. She also needed medication.
She had difficulty maintaining an appropriate weight and difficulty breathing. But she was developmentally sound, and into all the things a normal girl of her age would be.
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