TIPS FOR COPING WITH HAVING A FAMILY MEMBER WITH HEPATITIS C

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TIPS FOR COPING WITH HAVING A FAMILY MEMBER WITH HEPATITIS C Remember: ¨ You cannot cure your family member. Despite your efforts, symptoms may get worse or may improve. Enjoy the good times. ¨ If you feel much resentment, you are giving too much. ¨ It can be as hard for you to accept the illness, as it is for the ill family member. ¨ You may learn something about yourself as you learn about a family member’s journey through illness. ¨ Separate the person from the virus. Love the person, even if you hate the virus or side effects of the medication. ¨ It is not OK for you to be neglected. You have needs & wants too. ¨ Your chances of catching hepatitis C from casual or sexual contact with a family member is extremely low, providing proper precautions are taken to

avoid blood contact. ¨ Everyone’s blood has the potential to make someone else sick. Never share razors, toothbrushes or drug injection/snorting equipment. Make sure that tattoo, manicure, electrolysis and acupuncture establishments use sterile equipment. ¨ The illness of a family member is nothing to be ashamed of. ¨ You may encounter discrimination from an apprehensive public. ¨ You and your family member may have

different comfort levels around disclosure of information to others. It is important to discuss this and be respectful of each other’s needs. ¨ No one is to blame. ¨ Don’t forget your sense of humour. ¨ Acknowledge the courage your family member may show in dealing with the illness. ¨ Your family member is entitled to his or her own life journey, as are you. ¨ Resist the survival-oriented response of shutting down emotionally. Find someone to talk to. You are not alone. ¨ Sharing your thoughts and feelings with others in a support group is helpful and enlightening for many. ¨ It may be necessary to renegotiate the way things have been done in your relationship, both emotionally and physically. ¨ Recognizing that a person has limited capabilities should not mean that you expect nothing of them. ¨ You may experience grief issues about what you had and lost, or about what you never had. ¨ After denial, sadness, and anger comes acceptance. The addition of understanding yields compassion. ¨ Diseases are a part of the varied fabric of life. ¨ Don’t shoulder the whole responsibility for your ill family member. ¨ Forgive yourself and others for mistakes made. ¨ Physicians have varying degrees of competence, knowledge and experience. ¨ If you can’t care for yourself, you can’t care for another. ¨ The needs of the ill person do not necessarily always come first. ¨ Chronic illness affects the entire family, not just the person who actually has the disease. ¨ It is natural to experience a range of emotions such as grief, guilt, fear, anger, sadness, hurt and confusion. ¨ Support your local Hepatitis C group and the search for a cure! http://www.hepcbc.ca/help%20friends.htm