The impact of grief: a retrospective study of family function following loss of a child with cystic fibrosis.

The impact of the death of a cystic fibrosis child on subsequent 
family function was evaluated in a retrospective study of 16 families. 
In findings similar to that reported for another model of fatal 
childhood illness, leukemia, there was a high incidence of emotional and 
medical problems in the parents. There was an unexpectedly high incidence 
(7/16) of incomplete mourning, i.e., maintenance of the child's room as 
a shrine or weekly grave visit for more than six months. 
Siblings had less difficulty in adjusting to the loss than that 
reported for the siblings of leukemic children. It is suggested that 
the prolonged course of a disease with a hopeless prognosis prepares 
the family for the child's death but also retards the mourning 
process. The family may need counseling to ensure that mourning is 
completed. 