A single parent at the time, um… it was really difficult with just trying to juggle work, appointments, hospitals, driving back and forth a million times a day trying to get work done, washing done, cooking done, cleaning done, in between all of that was a real challenge.
All families experience challenges along the way whether it be just about your chronic pain or other challenges in life that each individual family member maybe experiencing.
It's important to remember each other's individual challenges and be supportive of each other in order for somebody to be supportive back to you.
How you deal with those situations is up to each individual family member but it's important to communicate your needs and… help each other out along the way as much as you can.
I had some help from friends, um… I was quite independent also though, I think.
It's probably my downfall um… but yeah anytime I would pick up the phone and call a friend or a family member they were there, but we stuck together as a team and just… and just managed.
If you need somebody to talk to and you feel that your family is overwhelmed, you don't only need to go to your family members to ask for help - you can also consider going to your general practitioner or your school counsellor or your year advisor, anyone that you can identify as a key support person with you… with you within your life.
The best way to deal with it is just take every day, one day at a time.
Um… that's all you can do one step at a time, one day at a time, one challenge at a time and just be there as much as you can, um… you just have to try and find a balance.
