__Have a sense of hope—End-stage
Liver Disease (ELD) is not a death sentence! There are treatments and
medicines available today, with the promise of better medicines and
treatments to come in the future, to help bring cirrhosis under control.
Many patients, with ALD or fatty liver disease as the underlying causal
disease of cirrhosis live long and productive lives by just eliminating
the cause of their disease.
Are able to adopt new coping skills—Finding ways to deal with the traumatic upheaval happening in your life as a result of your loved-one's illness. Learn to adjust to environmental stress without altering your own personal goals or purposes. "Positive" coping skills allow you to get through your "problem" times just as these skills did before you had additional responsibilities. "Negative" coping skills may provide temporary relief from the new workload but ultimately cause problem periods to worsen. A common example of a negative coping skill is the abuse of alcohol or drugs. Positive coping skills may be as simple as taking some personal time and doing something "just for yourself". Can talk openly with the patient—You are now, more than ever, in a position where honest communication is extremely important. You may not be the one with liver disease but you are still a human being and entitled to have your life too. Your patient needs to tell you every little symptom they are experiencing so you can provide care. Conversely you need to tell your patient about any problems that you are experiencing. Accept the realities of the disease—The complications of liver disease are very had to live with whether you are the patient or the care provider. Know what can happen with complications and how to treat them when they come up. When liver disease is in your life, everything changes. Don't get upset if the patient doesn't understand everything that is happening at times, or needs help doing things that they might have done for themselves in the past, or is changing the thermostat all the time because they are too hot or too cold. If you know these are "normal" for a liver disease patient you can avoid conflicts. Likewise, your patient needs to understand that you are willing to do just about anything for them but that you have limits, particularly for anything emotional. Take care of yourself!—Your physical and mental health is every bit as important as your patient's health. You can't help your patient if you are not well. Take the time to carry out your life as much as possible as it was before your patient got sick. Especially take time to give yourself some pampering as you have been providing it to your patient. Have a support system—You can't do everything by yourself! You'll completely burn out if you try to do everything. Take advantage of friends that ask "Is there anything I can do for you?" by letting them run errands, maybe pick up the kids or some grocery items that you need. Use support resources where ever you can find them—church or religious groups, social groups/clubs you may belong to or even get a referral to a social worker associated with your hospital to see where you can find resources. |