advice from Marcel Rufo

The point of view of Marcel Rufo, child psychiatrist

I note how attentive your children are to your health, in a way that you consider, in certain aspects, excessive, Caroline. As much as their concern is legitimate, we can hear that you are concerned at the idea that they are imposing too great sacrifices on themselves. Are they well informed about the risks associated with your illness, its progression and the precautions to take?

To help you, them, to find the right balance, the ideal contact seems to me to be the psychologist attached to the nephrology department where you are being followed. Put on a mask, why not? Deprive yourself of an outing with your friends? This is undoubtedly excessive zeal on the part of your daughter. Thanks to this mediator, you could tell your children your concern that they are doing too much.

Covid-19 has had a lasting impact on certain families where a member is affected by heart disease, kidney disease or an autoimmune pathology. Yours should not be the center of their lives. Your children are worried and their attitude tends to make you anxious. Despite the affection they show you in this way, it is important that they free themselves a little from this morbid preoccupation and that they open their horizons.