The Lived Experiences of the Mother of a Child with Werdnig-Hoffman Syndrome: A Qualitative Case Study

Introduction: Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and an autosomal recessive disorder. This was a qualitative case study focusing on lived experiences of the mother of 2 children with Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome. Case Report: The case was a 37-year-old widowed, mother of two children with Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome. The first child had died at age 5 due to breathing and swallowing issues and the second child is now 2 years old and has tracheostomy. The mother's experiences of living with children with Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome were “the disintegration of family life, observing the slow death of a children, understanding the children’s feelings, and caring for an ill child”. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that the mother had experienced distress due to the disintegration of life, and observing the death of a child, and caring for a sick child. Financial problems, substance abuse, and the death of the spouse were due to the crippling costs and issues of the disease. Keywords: Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome, Mother-child relationship, Family, Care giver, Case report, Phenomenolog