Scleroderma: Illness Trajectory and Self-Care Experiences
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Date
2009-09-23
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Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
Abstract
Abstract This article aims to present the author’s lived experiences with scleroderma for 17 years. The focuses are about the illness trajectory and self-care practicesalong with each phase of illness based on the Chronic Illness Trajectory framework of Corbin and Strauss and Orem’s self-care theory. Living with scleroderma foralong time makes the author deeply realize that it makes the patients very suffer from physical, mental, emotional, and psychosocial health deviation. The patient has to face with pain, digital ulcers, fatigue, limitation of body movement, disability, and severe body image loss. Because the severity of this chronic disease progresses continuously along with a timing period, it forces the patient to develop self-careagency to meet the continuing therapeutic self-care demands. Fortunately, the author is a nurse and self-care agent with high motivation to practice self-care, then, the outcome is surviving during the crisis phase. In addition, understanding, “what isthe reason to be alive?,” is a crucial thing that encourages the author’s will to live and practice self-care for promoting well-being potentially.
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Ramathibodi Nursing Journal; Vol. 14 No. 2, May - August 2008