ALHEAI: Gusto niyo ba ng Istorya? Lights! Camera! ACTION!

Stage 1: SYMPTOM EXPERIENCES

Narrator: At this stage the person comes to believe something is wrong. Either someone
significant mentions that the person looks unwell, or the person experiences some symptoms
such as pain, rash, cough, fever, or bleeding. Stage 1 has three aspects:
The physical experience of symptoms
The cognitive aspect (the interpretation of the symptoms in terms that have some
meaning to the person)
The emotional response (e.g., fear or anxiety)
Hamad: (scratching his body).. Ang kati-kati. Di pa ako makahinga
Narrator: During this stage, the unwell person usually consults others about the symptoms or
feelings, validating with a spouse or support people that the symptoms are real. At this stage the
sick person may try home remedies. If self-management is ineffective, the individual enters the
next stage.
Hamad: Alheia, Makati masyado ang katawan ko. Di pa ako mkahinga. Ano ba ito?
Alheia: Maligo ka kasi parang ilang araw ka na di naliligo
Hamad: Ginawa ko na yan, tatlong beses na ako naligo pero Makati pa rin ang katawan ko
Narrator: ASSUMPTION OF THE SICK ROLE
The individual now accepts the sick role and seeks confirmation from family and friends. Often
people continue with self-treatment and delay contact with health care professionals as long as
possible. During this stage people may be excused from normal duties and role expectations.
Emotional responses such as withdrawal, anxiety, fear, and depression are not uncommon
depending on the severity of the illness, perceived degree of disability, and anticipated duration
of the illness. When symptoms of illness persist or increase, the person is motivated to seek
professional help.
Hamad: Siguro may nagkulam sa akin or may sakit na ako na kumakalat na sa aking katawan
Alheia: Magpaconsult ka na kasi sa doctor
Hamad: Hanggang kaya ko pa di pa ako pupunta sa doctor. Lalagyan ko nalang ng ointment ang
katawan ko para mawala ang kati
Narrator: STAGE 3 MEDICAL CARE CONTACT

Sick people seek the advice of a health professional either on their own initiative or at the urging
of significant others. When people seek professional advice they are really asking for three types
of information:
Validation of real illness
Explanation of the symptoms in understandable terms
Reassurance that they will be all right or prediction of what the outcome will be
The health professional may determine that the client does not have an illness or that an illness is
present and may even be life threatening. The client may accept or deny the diagnosis. If the
diagnosis is accepted, the client usually follows the prescribed treatment plan. If the diagnosis is
not accepted, the client may seek the advice of other care professionals or quasi-practitioners
who will provide a diagnosis that fits the clients perception.
Alheia: Oh, bakit pulang-pula na yang katawan mo? Kelangan mo na tlaga magpatingin sa
Doctor
---------(Went to Physician)----------
Hamad: Doc, may sakit ba ako? Bakit ko ba nararanasan ito?
Demaguil: Meron ka bang pinapahid sa katawan mo para ito ay mamula?
Hamad: Gumagamit kasi ako ng pampaputi doc.
Demaguil: Base sa mga resulta ng laboratory test mo kumalat na ang chemical sa iyong
katawan. Kapag ipagpatuloy mo pa ito maaaring magkaroon ito ng ibang kumplikado sa katawan
mo. Meron kang kaylangan na treatment
Narrator: STAGE 4 DEPENDENT CLIENT ROLE
After accepting and seeking treatment, the client becomes dependent on the professional for
help. People vary greatly in the degree of ease with which they can give up their independence,
particularly in relation to life and death. Role obligations-such as those of wage earner, father,
mother, student, baseball team member, or choir member- complicate the decision to give up
independence.
Most people accept their dependence on the primary care provider, although they retain
varying degrees of control over their own lives. For example, some people request precise
information about their disease, their treatment, and the cost of treatment, and they delay the
decision to accept treatment until they have all this information. Others prefer that the primary
care provider proceed with treatment and do not request additional information.
For some clients illness may meet dependence needs that have never been met and thus
provide satisfaction. Other people have minimal dependence needs and do everything possible to
return to independent functioning. A few may even try to maintain independence to the detriment
of their recovery.
Hamad: Doc, Gawin mo lahat ng makakaya mo! Babayaran kita ng malaki. Kahit anong gusto
mo ibibigay ko!
Demaguil: Gagawin ko lahat ng makakaya ko
Narrator: Stage 5- RECOVERY OR REHABILITATION
During this stage the client is expected to relinquish the dependent role and resume former roles
and responsibilities. For people with acute illness the time as an ill person is generally short and
recovery is usually rapid. Thus most find it relatively easy to return to their former lifestyle.
People who have long term illnesses and must adjust their lifestyle may find recovery more
difficult. For clients with a permanent disability, this final stage may require therapy to learn
how to make major adjustments in functioning.
Alheia: Hindi ka lang dapat nkadepende sa mga gamot mo. Dapat tigilan mo na mismo ang
mga ginagamit mo.
Hamad: At dpat meron din akong magandang lifestyle

Narrator: (while Hamad is acting like experiencing emotional changes)
Effects of Illness

Illness brings about changes in both the involved individual and in the family. The changes vary
depending on the nature, severity, and duration of the illness, attitudes associated with the illness
by the client the others, the financial demands, the lifestyle changes incurred, adjustments to
usual roles and so on.
Impact on the Client

Ill client may experience behavioral and emotional changes, changes in self-concept and body
image, and lifestyle changes. Behavioral and emotional changes associated with short term
illness are generally mild and short lived. The individual, for example, may become irritable and
lack the energy or desire to interact in the usual fashion with family members or friends. More
acute responses are likely with severe, life-threatening, chronic or disabling illness.
Illness also often necessitates a change in lifestyle. In addition to participating in treatments and
taking medications, the ill person may need to change diet, activity and exercise, and rest and
sleep patterns.
Nurses can help clients adjust their lifestyle by these means:
Providing explanations about necessary adjustments
Making arrangements wherever possible to accommodate the clients lifestyle
Encouraging other health professionals to become aware of the persons lifestyle
practices and to support healthy aspects of that lifestyle
Reinforcing desirable changes in practices with a view to making them a permanent part
of the clients lifestyle.

NARRATOR: (while Alheia is acting like having a problem)
Impact on the Family

A persons illness affects not only the person who is ill but also the family or significant others.
The kind of effect and its extent depend chiefly on three factors: (a) the member of the family
who is ill, (b) the seriousness and lengthy of the illness, and (c) the cultural and social customs
the family follows.
The changes that can occur in the family include the following:
Role changes
Task reassignments and increased demands on time
Increased stress due to anxiety about the outcome of the illness for the client and conflict
about unaccustomed responsibilities
Financial problems
Loneliness as a result of separation and pending loss
Change in social customs