Locating legacy in illness.

Abstract

The author, a licensed marriage and family therapist, describes her work with Sofia, an eight-year-old Puerto Rican female with chronic and persistent abdominal pain and leg paralysis with no known organic cause. Sofia's mother, Ana, was also seen by the author. Over the course of several weeks, the family shared stories of painful medical procedures and extreme dietary plans prescribed to them by doctors to identify the etiology of Sofia's illness. Ana described her simultaneous relief and frustration when each test result indicated that there was no organic cause for Sofia's debilitating pain. They talked about the push and pull Ana's family experienced as they prayed simultaneously for abnormal and normal test results. The author told Sofia's pediatrician that she would begin to create a community genogram with the family in their next meeting. She explained that the purpose of the community genogram was to illustrate the social and historical contexts of families' lives. They learned that a seminal narrative in Sofia's family legacy connected deep understanding of others with embodiment of their immediate experience. Sofia's illness became one part of her and her family's legacy and cultural tapestry. Ana described the renewed connections that she and Sofia shared with their family members. As Sofia and Ana spoke with their family members more often, Sofia's leg paralysis and stomach pains decreased. Sofia began attending school regularly and visiting less with her pediatrician. (PsycINFO Database Record