Christine Rich, MS, RN, Coordinator of the Family-to-Family Program at Children Hospital Boston responded to the following question:

If I wanted to talk to another family whose child had the same or a similar diagnosis, what would I need to do?

Parents often find comfort talking to someone, who in the past, has gone through what they are experiencing right now.

The Family-to-Family program matches parents whose children are newly diagnosed with parents who are trained support volunteers, whose children have had their diagnosis for at least one year.

Matches can be made based on the child's diagnosis, age, a procedure and/or the parents need for support. Other parents can offer tips for coping, accessing resources and offer ideas to help the child's siblings deal with lengthy hospitalizations. Sometimes, just knowing that you are not alone is the most helpful aspect of the match.

In order to begin the matching process give me (Chris) a call at 617-355-4991. You can also e-mail me at christine.rich@tch.harvard.edu or stop by the Center for Families and I can explain the process to you. It is really very easy.

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