CPN | Courageous Parents Network
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WELCOME.

Courageous Parents Network is a non-profit organization and educational platform that orients, empowers and accompanies families and providers caring for children with serious illness.

 

Here—in videos, podcasts, printable guides, Guided Pathways, and blog—you will find wisdom from families and pediatric care providers to help you get through each moment. And be the best parent you can be.

Intro Video

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The Beginning

The Beginning

With a diagnosis you enter a strange new land. There is information to absorb; there are questions to ask and decisions to make. Your hopes, dreams and expectations for your child and family suddenly shift in unanticipated ways. You may feel sadness, anger, frustration and grief. But you may also experience new joys as you redefine hope. You are not alone. We have been there too.
Advocating for Your Child

Advocating for Your Child

You are your child’s most important advocate. You are the expert on your child. Your child’s care team (medical team, home care team, supportive therapists and school community) will look to you for guidance. Knowing the questions to ask, feeling comfortable expressing what matters most for your child and family, and developing an open channel of communication with your providers will help you get your child get the care you envision.
Understanding Interventions

Understanding Interventions

So much to learn and consider. Over the course of your child’s illness journey, you may be faced with choices about a range of medical interventions (such as surgeries, treatments or therapies). There is often no one or right answer—only what works for your child and family. The perspectives of providers and other families that have considered these interventions can help in making you feel more comfortable and confident in your decisions.
Coping, Family, and Relationships

Coping, Family, and Relationships

When a child is sick, the entire family is affected. You may worry about your other children, your spouse or parenting partner, extended family members, and even yourself. You wonder, “How can I keep myself and my relationships strong?”. Finding ways to tend to these relationships, and to care for yourself, will help you better care for your child.
End of Life and Bereavement

End of Life and Bereavement

The possibility of your child's end of life may feel like an impossible thing to think about. Hearing from other parents who have walked this path can help you consider the questions that you may have but perhaps fear saying aloud. Learning from providers and getting practical information can help you feel more empowered to make what may feel like impossible decisions. The voices of bereaved parents can be a source of strength and community as you find your way. We know. We have been there too.

Pathways

CPN content organized into learning experiences, by topic.

Guided exploration may help you better understand a particular topic and how you want to address it in your own family’s life. Each Pathway is a short learning experience that mixes in videos, text, blogs and podcasts.

Learn More

The Courageous Parents Network Blog

The Trials of Clinical Trials - Part 2

CPN is honored that the Byers family has agreed to share and reflect on their experience of having their son Will participate in two very different clinical tri...

The Miracle at the Mirror

Of course I'm late to my first haircut in eight months, and my tardiness requires a different stylist than the one I originally scheduled with. This waste of ot...

You Don't Say

I know you don’t know what to say. You didn’t know what to say when you heard she was diagnosed and you didn’t know what to say when you saw her for the f...

Getting beyond “Why me?”

Any of us dealing with a life threatening diagnosis for our child has probably had moments of asking “why me?”. And yes to be sure the situation is affectin...

Calling All Coping Strategies

Negotiating the fraught space between hope and reality is one of the most wrenching parts of being a complex caregiver. I have written before about how palliati...

Featured / New

Page

Resources to Support Courageous Coping During COVID

During this surreal and deeply unsettling time brought on by the COVID-19 virus and what essentially amounts to the shutting down of the entire world, I want to...

Resources to Support Courageous Coping During COVID

Video

CPN talks with counselor Mary-Frances Garber on staying calm and strong in the shadow of COVID.

CPN’s Blyth Lord talks with counselor Mary-Frances Garber, MS, CGC, on staying calm and strong in the shadow of COVID. “Anxiety is, really, fear o

CPN talks with counselor Mary-Frances Garber on staying calm and strong in the shadow of COVID.
Watch this Video

Guide

Consideraciones para la Tutela y Toma de Decisiones Médicas

La crianza de niño/as es un proceso de toda la vida, y particularmente para los padres de niño/as con enfermedades serias, donde la edad cronológica del niñ...

Consideraciones para la Tutela y Toma de Decisiones Médicas

Guide

Planeando la transición de Proveedores Pediátricos a Adultos para un Niño/a Totalmente Dependiente

Un cambio que requiere consideraciones y planificación por aelantado El enfoque de todo tratamiento médico es maximizar nuestro bienestar y funciones por ...

Planeando la transición de Proveedores Pediátricos a Adultos para un Niño/a Totalmente Dependiente

Guide

Preparándose para las Decisiones Difíciles

Una Conversación Continua En el transcurso de la enfermedad de su hijo/a, Ud. tendrá que considerar unas preguntas muy difíciles en cuanto a sus metas pa...

Preparándose para las Decisiones Difíciles

We are a non-profit and are grateful for your financial support so families can share their experience and expertise to impact the course of care, both given and received.

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