Readying for Discharge Home
FCs expressed their feelings of competence in caring for their child at home along with its many challenges. Common across all FCs were the experiences of constant worry about the “what if’s” such as an emergency event with their child. FCs described feeling that HCPs had encouraged them to maintain a 24/7 vigilance over their child’s care which FCs experienced as unsustainable. Loss of hospital expertise and after hours support for guidance and problem solving were described as extremely concerning for FCs. The stress of having to turn their home into a safe and ongoing medical space for their child surfaced throughout the interviews (see Appendix 8).