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Children with life-threatening illnesses are subjected to numerous treatments and procedures. They endure enormous physical and emotional pain as attempts are made to prolong their lives. These children require sensitive care by pediatric nurses who recognize the importance of the child's need to grow and become. A way to satisfy the child's desire is the fulfillment of a special wish, which provides a sense of future, a way to be something more. The fulfillment of the wish is a palliative care and end-of-life intervention that can ease suffering and sorrow for the child and family. It is essential to understand, however, that the child has complex emotions as the wish is fulfilled. The provision of care must, therefore, include psychological support, empowerment, and communication with the child and family to assist with life-threatening illnesses as they experience suffering within the tension of living and dying.
One of the greatest challenges for pediatric nurses is providing care for children with life-threatening illnesses. They endure complicated treatments and complex procedures, and experience physical and emotional pain as efforts are made to extend their lives. Children with life-threatening illnesses require sensitive care by pediatric nurses who promote healing knowing that death is a possibility. The fulfillment of special wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses is palliative care and an end-of-life intervention that will enhance the life of the child in the process of both living and dying.
Hope and Joy
The fulfillment of special wishes is a means of giving children with lifet hreatening illnesses a chance to become. They can be whomever they want or obtain something they thought to be impossible. Wishing for something engenders the hope that the wish will come true. Future possibilities are intertwined with hope, a sense that life is worth living. Hope is fundamental to survival and is an important underlying element in the child's will to live (Hinds, 2004; Kübler-Ross, 1983).
Drawings by children with life-threatening illnesses who had their special wishes fulfilled were a way for them to share what they could not express in verbal language. Ewing (2007) conducted a hermeneutic inquiry to discern the meaning of having a special wish fulfilled for children with life-threatening illnesses. Children were asked to draw their experiences at a holiday...