Neurosurgery Kids Fund

5 months ago

I’ve been thinking about all of you a lot lately. Like a lot of you, I am tired of COVID and tired of being isolated and, well really, just tired.

It was a year ago this month that my medical kiddo had her 50 through 59th surgeries, which just make it interesting also included kidney failure, an emergency intubation as she temporarily lost her eye sight and infected brain and spinal drains with not one, but two different bugs. It actually in some ways feels like a million years ago or even that it never really happened. But then sometimes, in the quiet moments, it feels like it was literally yesterday. I can see her suffering, I can smell the anesthesia coming off her after surgery and I can feel the terror rip through me. And I know most of you, if not all of you, have felt this exact same way. That’s why we are here, on this Facebook page, supporting one another.

It is also why we, as a research team, are so greatful for everyone who took the time to participate in our PTSD study a little over a year ago. We are so proud to let you know the article, “Prevelence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Caregivers of Pediatric Patients” was published in Child’s Nervous System. 44.6% of caregivers in the study screened positive for PTSD symptoms. To put this in perspective, the average incidence of PTSD in the general public is 1-3% and around 10% in the active military.

I am attaching the link to the abstract of the article. I am trying to figure out how to post the full article, but until then, if you would like a full copy of the article, you can email me at Wendy.beaudoin@albertahealthservices.ca.

A special thanks to Hanna Moore, Lori Bliss, Dr Mehta and Dr Souster for working on this project with me. Was truly a team effort.

link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00381-020-04938-3 ... See MoreSee Less

Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in caregivers of pediatric neurosurgical patients

link.springer.com

Background Having a child receive a neurosurgical diagnosis creates significant stress and anxiety in caregivers. The stress of these life-threatening and emotionally charged diagnoses may put caregiv...