Family stress theory focuses on a crisis that takes place within a family, the resources they have available, and the definition/perception of the event. Many families go through periods of crisis including mine and I never though to put a label on that process, but now having this information I have begun to take another look at some of the harder times my family has faced. In my blog I am going to give one example from my family in which resources and perceptions did help change the potential outcome of the event.
The event that took place was one of ambiguous loss. Back when I was in my senior year of college my grandfather who was not even 70 had an accident and he slipped and fell. Now don't get me wrong he was not the perfection of health but certainly no where near death. When my grandfather was taken to the hospital he was looked over and given a clean bill health, the doctor however did have him stay overnight just in case there was an issue with his spleen. Long story short my grandfather ended up slipping into a coma due to fluid in his lung. Despite being seen by a respiratory therapist some how they missed the fluid. After a week in the hospital my grandfather passed away. If that wasn't enough my sister and I both were at the end of our semesters with finals around the corner. Fortunately my family had a lot of resources to help get us through this, financial and support from friends. Our perception of the event was despite being sad and angry with the hospital we did not want to see my grandfather suffer so we were relieved when he finally passed. I learned that day how important perception and resources can be when dealing with a crisis. My friends supported me through a very difficult time and without them I would have felt lost. They allowed me to be sad and upset but kept my perception of the event grounded, reminding me that he was suffering and better off.
No comments:
Post a Comment