T
TonyaH
Guest
Hi there,
I wanted to tell everyone what happened at my house last night as a heads-up to parents of preteens.
I put the book <u>Chicken Soup for the PreTeen Soul Vol. 2</u> in Andrew's Easter basket this year and he has been reading it little by litte. Last night I put him to bed and, unbeknownst to me, he turned his bedroom light back on and continued reading. Not a big deal, sometimes he reads when he is having trouble falling asleep. But last night, he came downstairs and said, "Look mom, this story is called '65 Roses'." I took the book from him and realized it was a story about CF. I quickly scanned the story and saw the word 'death' a couple of times, and made up an excuse why he had to stop reading and go right to sleep.
So, he went back to bed and I read the story myself. It was a story about a girl living with CF and accepting the fact that she has a disease that will most likely cause her death. Andrew understands what CF is, understands what all of his meds and therapy is for, etc., but we have yet to discuss prognosis with him. Tom and I talked about it and we have no choice but to give the book back and let him read it. So, tonight we are going to read it together, just the three of us, and discuss it afterward. We are going to focus on the positive outlook of the girl who wrote the story, and talk about all of the ways we can keep him as healthy as we can for as long as we can.
I'll keep my chin up, be positive, and cuddle with him afterward to make sure he doesn't have any more questions. (He still likes to cuddle with me for a few minutes before lights out!...He'll still hold my hand in public, too!) I'll wait until he's asleep to sob into my pillow. I knew we would have to discuss this, but I was not ready to tell my son CF is a disease that takes lives. I am at least grateful that it is being done in a controlled environment, which is what I had always hoped for.
Anyway, for those who may have kids Andrew's age and may be reading that book or recieving it as a gift, just know that story is in the book and if you haven't had "the talk" yet, the book kind of leaves you no choice in the matter.
Updated: The talk went very well. He asked if he really could die from CF. We explained that yes, he could, but that all of us are going to die and everyone's job is to keep their body healthy for as long as they can. He handled everything just fine! Whew! Went much better than I thought it would!
I wanted to tell everyone what happened at my house last night as a heads-up to parents of preteens.
I put the book <u>Chicken Soup for the PreTeen Soul Vol. 2</u> in Andrew's Easter basket this year and he has been reading it little by litte. Last night I put him to bed and, unbeknownst to me, he turned his bedroom light back on and continued reading. Not a big deal, sometimes he reads when he is having trouble falling asleep. But last night, he came downstairs and said, "Look mom, this story is called '65 Roses'." I took the book from him and realized it was a story about CF. I quickly scanned the story and saw the word 'death' a couple of times, and made up an excuse why he had to stop reading and go right to sleep.
So, he went back to bed and I read the story myself. It was a story about a girl living with CF and accepting the fact that she has a disease that will most likely cause her death. Andrew understands what CF is, understands what all of his meds and therapy is for, etc., but we have yet to discuss prognosis with him. Tom and I talked about it and we have no choice but to give the book back and let him read it. So, tonight we are going to read it together, just the three of us, and discuss it afterward. We are going to focus on the positive outlook of the girl who wrote the story, and talk about all of the ways we can keep him as healthy as we can for as long as we can.
I'll keep my chin up, be positive, and cuddle with him afterward to make sure he doesn't have any more questions. (He still likes to cuddle with me for a few minutes before lights out!...He'll still hold my hand in public, too!) I'll wait until he's asleep to sob into my pillow. I knew we would have to discuss this, but I was not ready to tell my son CF is a disease that takes lives. I am at least grateful that it is being done in a controlled environment, which is what I had always hoped for.
Anyway, for those who may have kids Andrew's age and may be reading that book or recieving it as a gift, just know that story is in the book and if you haven't had "the talk" yet, the book kind of leaves you no choice in the matter.
Updated: The talk went very well. He asked if he really could die from CF. We explained that yes, he could, but that all of us are going to die and everyone's job is to keep their body healthy for as long as they can. He handled everything just fine! Whew! Went much better than I thought it would!