Welcome to hell

Welcome to Hell
By: Rose Barbour

Please take a moment to think about your children – no matter what their ages – and how much you love them. Feel that intense love inside your heart.

Consider how many times you thought about the dangers lurking in the outside world, and how you would do absolutely anything to protect them from all of it.

Remember the precious times when your child’s biggest problems could be fixed with a hug, kiss, band-aid, soothing words, or some combination thereof.

Recall the look of love and gratitude in your child’s eyes as your loving care took away the pain and replaced it with a smile.

Think back to when your children shared their hopes and dreams with you. How they wanted to be famous singers, firefighters, doctors, and everything else under the sun. Oh, how you loved to hear about their dreams.

With the warm memories in your heart, please take a moment to imagine....

That your precious child has been diagnosed with a devastating disease.

A disease that kills more people each year than car accidents.

People (young and old) in your area have already died from the disease so you know it is serious.

Can you feel the fear?

Can you feel your heart breaking?

Now, imagine that the world does not understand this disease. In fact, many will look down on your child for having it.

You feel so alone and scared to death, but you can’t reach out to anyone for support.

You fear that if you do tell someone, your good, loving child will be judged as a bad person.

To protect your sick child from any type of stigma, you remain quiet and suffer in silence. You suffer for a very long time.  

There will be no benefit held, and no family or community support shown, even though you and your child will experience more pain than you’ve ever experienced in your life.

You are forced to fight the biggest battle of your lives all on your own.

You immediately take your child to get treatment.

You trust that your child is getting the best care.

You eventually figure out that what is being offered is inadequate.

Your child will not have access to the best treatment available.

You feel betrayed by the very system that was supposed to help him to get well.

You are forced to watch helplessly as the under-treated disease escalates, causing the child that you love so much to become a shell of his former self.

Your child is sick and getting worse. The disease is winning.

If you don’t figure out how to save your child, he will surely die like so many before him.

You are heartbroken and scared to death. You begin to lose hope as all of your efforts fail.

In frustration you cry out for help, but your cries are met with silence and indifference.

Your health begins to suffer as you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.

There seems to be no escape from this nightmare.

After years of fighting for help for your child, but never getting enough, you watch him die a little more each day.

You begin to plan his funeral in your head.

Your precious child. So sick. So desperate. Telling you that he can’t take it anymore. He will be dead by the end of the day.

Your child so desperately needing a life line, but it never comes.

You wait for the call or knock on the door that will forever change who you are.

You are scared, sad, lonely, tired, and heartbroken.

You are powerless.

No hug, kiss, band-aid, soothing words, or some combination thereof will save your child this time.

Your love is no longer enough to protect him. You cry a million tears.

Welcome to the reality of life with an addicted child.

Welcome to hell!

Written by: Rose Barbour

http://shadowsinpei.blogspot.ca/2014/01/welcome-to-hell.html