The lived experience of mothers hearing about their sons’ diagnosis of brain injury : a descriptive phenomenological analysis

M.A. (Psychology)Abstract: Brain injury is among the leading causes of death worldwide. Brain injuries can be sustained from either traumatic causes such as motor vehicle accidents or acquired causes such as strokes. The consequences of brain injury are devastating for the injured individual and those around them due to the lack of insight brain injured individuals often exhibit toward their injuries. These consequences are in most cases long lasting and life changing. The support provided by family members after brain injury has been known to lead to improved well-being. Existing literature has investigated to the experiences of caregivers looking after a family member who sustained a brain injury. The present study will describe the lived experience of mothers acting as primary caregivers for sons who have just sustained brain injuries. The topic has not been investigated in the South African context and this study will attempt to bridge this gap. A descriptive phenomenological lens will be used to explore the experiences of mothers from the moment they were informed about their sons’ brain injuries. Three mothers whose sons had recently sustained brain injuries were sourced and invited to be interviewed. Open-ended interviews were conducted requesting the mothers to explain their experiences after being informed about their sons’ brain injuries. The interviews were then transcribed verbatim including relevant nonverbal behaviours and analysis of the interviews followed using relevant phenomenological data analysis criteria. The findings indicate that when a mother is initially informed that her son has sustained a brain injury she experiences feelings of shock, anxiety, uncertainty, sadness and heartbreak. These emotional reactions can be attributed to the sudden and unexpected occurrence of the brain injury and unknown consequences of the injury. During the period of treatment and post discharge the mothers experienced feelings of frustration towards medical professionals, relief that their sons were still alive and recovering well and motherly responsibility towards their sons’ wellbeing. The mothers also employed various coping mechanism in their attempts to deal with..