Mothering children who survive brain injuries: playing the hand you're dealt.
OBJECTIVE
To explore how mothers come to terms with the multiple changes that occur with children who sustain sudden brain injuries.


METHODS
A descriptive study based on symbolic interactionist principles.


METHODS
Mothers' homes or a private interview room in a hospital.


METHODS
Seven mothers recruited through a pediatric rehabilitation center.


METHODS
Each mother described her experiences with her child in one open-ended interview.


RESULTS
Mothers' lives changed abruptly and profoundly when a previously healthy child suffered a catastrophic brain injury. Their accounts revealed how they had come to regard themselves and the children as "different people" after the injury. Their reconstructions were the result of continuous self-reflection and interactions with others. Mothers had recast life in general from being predictable and controllable to being precarious and dominated by fate. Believing they had no other choice, they played the hand they had been dealt.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses can play an important role in helping mothers of children who have brain injuries by reassuring them that feelings of guilt and helplessness are not uncommon, praising them for learning new caregiving skills, and treating children with brain injuries with respect and dignity.
Guerriere
D
D
Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. denise.guerriere@utoronto.ca
McKeever
P
P
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D002170:Canada; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D017741:Survivors