Table 2.

Sample Codes, Definitions, and Examples of Patient Responses

Code Word	Definition	Sample Responses
		What Makes A Good Day For You?
Able Eat	Being able to eat	“If I can eat,” “Getting breakfast in bed,” “Having breakfast—especially good—biscuits,” “When I get to eat”
At Home	Being able to be at home	“The day they tell me I can go home,” “When I don’t have to come to the hospital,” “When I get to go home”
Be Normal	Being normal	“When I feel like a normal kid,” “When my life becomes close to normal or feels normal”
Do Usual	Doing my usual activities	“A good day is when we go out and do something like go to the zoo or the Fire Museum,” “Playing my video games and watching TV and running around playing with her [my little sister]”
Family	Being with family	“When I go see my grandparents,” “Whenever my family comes to visit me,” “Being with my mom and dad”
Friends	Feeling close with friends	“Talking to my girlfriend,” “Seeing my friends,” “When I go hang out with my friends,” “Having friends around”
Gd Mood	Positive mood	“When I get up in a good mood,” “When I’m relaxed and having a good day,” “Getting up in a good mood”
Go Places	Going places/being entertained	“Going to do something like the mall,” “Going to the movies,” “Going to sports games like the Grizzlies or Redbirds,” “Going fun places like the zoo or the fish store”
No Hosp	Not going to the hospital	“Not having to go to the hospital,” “When clinic visit is not scheduled for week”
No Sick	Not feeling sick	“When I feel good, when I can play, when I laugh a lot, not having to be here all the time,” “When I have no pain in my neck. Days like this—it just felt like a good day”
Smooth	Nothing goes wrong	“Just if nothing goes wrong—like no bad muscle cramps, no joint pain, no headaches. You know, just doing okay”
Spirit	Believing in a greater being	“The Lord makes my day really special” “To wake up and know there’s a god above” “Thanking the Lord for letting me be here”
How Has Being Sick Been For You?
Bad Hard	Illness experience hard	“Being sick really sucks, pain, all the things you can’t do like go home and have fun”
Bad Sick	Symptoms of being sick	“Bad, because I have been throwing up a lot,” “I get really scared when I pass out” “bad—especially nausea and ulcers”
Benefit	Receiving benefits	“It’s fun because I don’t have to go to school,” “I’ve met a lot of people to help me with my homework,” “People have been a lot nicer to me since I have been sick,” “Because I get all the attention”
Can’t Do	Can’t do what I want	“Not being able to do my normal stuff,” “Don’t feel like doing anything, can’t do the things I used to be able to do”
Gd Change	Changed life for the good	“It has actually made me a better person. I have always been tense, angry and selfish. I feel I need my family more. I’m more emotional, I cry more (teary eyed). I just have a better attitude towards life.”
Good	Positive	“Actually, it has been pretty good to me,” “Pretty good overall” “Everything has gone well for me,” “I still like coming here and seeing people”
New Exp	Change	“Being sick has really changed my life a lot. The medicine makes you very emotional so you cry a lot and have mood swings and have good days and bad days,” “An unforgettable experience”
No Friend	Missing friends and family	“I miss my normal life, friends, family, school and being at home.”
Not Bad	Not so bad	“It hasn’t really bothered me much, it really hasn’t” “Sick? I have not really been sick,” “Not as bad as I thought it would be so far”
Others	Being with others I like	“I’ve made a lot of friends here at and have met lots of cancer patients to talk to,” “Get to meet other children,” “I have met lots of new people that I think very dearly of”
Used To It	Getting used to it	“I’m used to it now,” “At first it was worse, but now it got better—I’m used to it,” “It’s upsetting, but I’ve come to terms with it”
Trust God	Trusting in God	“I know that there is some reason the Lord has put this burden on my family and me,” “I’m handling it good so far thanks to the good Lord”