cf assosiations in Greece

Question

I am a mother, used to fighting. One of my children has CF. It is still young and the problems are few for now. There are days, however, that I do not feel strong. I think why this thing had to happen to me, why must my child and my family pay for a medical mistake, how can I make my child strong to fight the disease, when I feel so week before death. It is very difficult for a mother to raise a child with an expiration date. What can you say about it all? Is there a way to get support through the internet? Will the global financial crisis affect the research for the cure of CF?

Answer

Dear friend,
It is reasonable and expected for a mother to be concerned about the future of her child. You must not, however, consider your child as having an expiration date, as you mention in your question. If you follow the instructions of the CF center, implement to the letter and systematically the medical treatment, the physiotherapy regime and the rest of the therapies, you can expect that the life expectancy of your child will be close to the one of the general population.
You ask how will the financial crisis affect the course of the research about CF. I do not think that anyone can answer this kind of general question. The important thing is to concentrate on the ways you can improve the conditions for your child with CF and your family in general. Υou must focus on providing the best you can offer to your child and not waste energy in things so totally out of our control, such as the global financial crisis.
There are two associations of patients with CF and parents of patients in Greece, one in Athens, www.hcfa.gr, and one in Thessaloniki, www.cfathess.gr. I suggest you contact both of them, in order to get information about CF and the ways to cope with the disease, to get to know parents and patients, with whom you can discuss your concerns, and with whom you share common problems.
Yours friendly,
Konstantinos Katsoulakis

12.01.2012