Would you tell your family that you have a debilitating illness or not?
I have asked myself that upon learning that someone recently found out that she has cancer. Apparently, she doesn’t want her children to worry about her because she plans to undergo every possible medical intervention first anyway.
ARTWORK CREDIT: KINDPNG.COMIt’s evident though that she’d get hurt even more if her children would take her medical situation lightly. In her recent operation, the money she was given hadn’t been enough to cover her entire hospital bills, and the care she was accorded hadn’t been sufficient to make her illness less debilitating. I was therefore almost tempted to tell her children the truth about her real health condition if only to ease a bit of her worries—but then would that really of any comfort to her if I did so?
Knowing how it is to be seriously sick, I understand why she doesn’t want her loved ones to worry too much about her. No one would want to be gushed over with your ailment, right? It’s very stressful enough having to explain how you feel every now and then and to share with anyone what you’ve already been told by your doctor. It’s also not worth knowing that other people close to you won’t be able to lead “normal” lives just because you can’t lead your own life normally anymore.
But, of course, lies are lies—and letting your loved ones truly aware of what you’re going through is just being fair and honest to them. You won’t be withholding the truth from them. And by letting them know the facts about your health condition, you’ll find greater comfort in the depth of their sympathies.
