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).