Disease and It's Effect on Children

My son Jonathan experienced one of these stressors as a child.  He is a cancer survivor.  When he was sixteen years old he was diagnosed with B Cell Lymphoma.  Even with a diagnosis of cancer, he still had the same needs as other young people - going to school, having friends, and enjoying things that were a part of life before cancer. My husband and I helped meet these needs by letting him live as normal a life as possible.  This was a contributing factor in what helped him to cope with his illness.  Jonathan kept in touch with his friends.  They were a big part of helping him cope with his disease.  As Jonathan was in chemotherapy treatment one week on and one week off and had to be hospitalized for the week he was on Chemo (three months in total).  He returned to school on his “off weeks”.  He kept up with schoolwork which made him feel good about himself. This for him was another coping mechanism.  Even when he felt the worst he always had a positive attitude.  I know that his outlook on his disease had a positive effect on the rest of the family.  We were all supported by a loving family and wonderful friends.  Our family’s greatest support came from Arnold Palmer hospital.  What a loving, caring and overall marvelous staff of doctors and nurses.  One of Jonathan’s most surprising support system came from the families that we met while staying at the hospital.  Parents are allowed to stay with their children for the duration of their hospital stay.  Jonathan made so many friends in the hospital.  All of these children and families dealing with similar diagnosis in the Pediatric Oncology Unit (blood cancers).  These children were all dealing and coping together.  All of the families were dealing and coping together.  His treatment was intense but only lasted for three months.  Honestly, we did not seek out outside resources for support.  I am sure that a good resource for families dealing with a cancer diagnosis would be the American Cancer Society. www.cancer.org/‎.  Jonathan’s love of music was another great coping strategy for him.  He is a musician.  He plays both base and rhythm guitar.  While Jonathan was in the hospital, a music therapy program was just getting started.  Jonathan was a part of the beginning of the program. He is shown in the very first flyer playing his base guitar. Jonathan is now a senior at UCF.  He is healthy and working toward a degree in Hospitality Management.  He works in Group Sales at the Marriot Hotel where we live in Lake Mary Florida.  He made it through his illness in a remarkable way.  It was a terrible time in all of our lives.  The disease and the chemotherapy affected his body.  I believe his disease made him a stronger person.  He has a great appreciation for his life and lives every day to the fullest.  He knows he can and will accomplish anything he sets his mind to. 

In Africa, many children in this region of the world suffer from poverty, hunger and disease.  These stressors have a great impact on the physical, emotional and cognitive development of the children affected.   Malaria is contracted from the bite of a mosquito.  Malaria is both preventable and curable.  Children in this region of the world are contracting this disease.  It infects approximately 219 million people each year (a range of 154 – 289 million), with an estimated 660,000 deaths.  Malaria infection during pregnancy is associated with severe anemia and other illness in the mother and contributes to low birth weight among newborn infants.  It is one of the leading risk factors for infant mortality and sub-optimal growth and development. Malaria has serious economic impacts in Africa, slowing economic growth and development and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. Malaria is a disease of poverty.  It afflicts primarily the poor who tend to live in malaria-prone rural areas in poorly-constructed dwellings that offer few, if any, barriers against mosquitoes. Severe malnutrition puts children at greater risk for malaria due to reduced immunity. (UNICEF, 2013)

What UNICEF is doing to help through prevention and treatment:

·         provide Insecticide-Treated Nets

·         work with governments and communities to improve and promote prompt and effective malaria case management, and to ensure that children have access to medications within 24 hours of the onset of illness. 

·         provides pregnant women with at least two doses of an anti-malarial drug to reduce the risk of anemia in the mother and low birth weight in the newborn.

·         reach underserved children, helping to strengthen management of child illnesses including malaria at health facility and community level.

·         work together to ensure a complete “continuum of care” from resource mobilization to implementation – ensuring that those most vulnerable to malaria are the beneficiaries of preventive and curative interventions for malaria. 

·         continue to provide support to countries to move towards malaria elimination, wherever possible. (UNICEF, 2103)

Resource:

http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html