I have a friend on Facebook who is going through some similar things with her lungs. When she reached out to me, I was elated. Just having someone to talk to who understands or is trying to figure out their labyrinth of health feels wonderful. However, my friend was not telling her children about what she was going through. This is from our post:
“I was speaking to my daughter yesterday. Told her how thankful I was for you. I told her about your decision not to tell your kids and suggested maybe that was the “adult” thing, which maybe I should not have told her. She thought deeply and said that she needed to be a part of this. That it didn’t matter what she was going through, that this was a part of her life and our relationship. She told me she would have been mad and hurt had I kept it from her. I have to say this. Since she has known, our relationship has turned sweeter, and deeper. I did not think that was possible as we are very close. We have cried together, and I know that those moments of crying together are as precious as our times of laughing. We held each other a lot during the past year. We will probably do the same through this. It feels good having her support, and in some of my research that support may be life-saving. Just reading today about lung transplants and the support system of those who apply. It is a key factor.
My daughter and I are making our family a priority more so than ever before. She came over to sleep last night, and we will probably do that regularly from here forward. My daughter’s primary love language is quality time, so this is me being able to say “I love you” in her language.
I’m curious what others are doing? Are you telling your kids? Who is your support system?