I was curious to know how many of you here are parents to young children and how your condition affects this? Are any of you lone parents? I am a lone parent now, not through my choosing, and my little one is 3. He is exceptionally active and just so full of beans from morning through to night. I'm a stay at home mum although he goes to pre school a few hours a week. As time has gone on I feel increasingly disabled by my full body sfn and another rheumatic condition I have. I felt a pretty healthy, fit, lively young woman before pregnancy and it all changed after.
I find that I have to fight really hard to maintain an upbeat, positive persona for my son. I try so so hard to keep smiling and playful and push through the disablement and pain to take him out nice places and play in the house. It is so hard I do not know how I get through each day without breaking down. My bigger worry is my emotional health as a result of what's happening and how to make sure I keep on top of the depression that now accompanies this. I really don't sit around moping around him but I am very sad and afraid inside, particularly as I'm alone looking after him and I worry about the future.
I really worry that he will feel all this within me and it will mess him up. I try so hard to contain my emotion but the truth is that I am not jumping for joy most days as I am severely fatigued, in pain and grieving alot of losses. I am still very playful and loving and engage with him all the time but some days I just struggle to push through the day.
Are any of you in a similar predicament with small children and the condition seriously impacting you either physically, emotionally or both?