Table 4.
Examples Regarding the Theme of Impacts of Changes on Personal Well-being.
| Subtheme | Example Quotes |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Concerns about future state of diagnosis | “I hate to see it keeping on getting too late because I don't know how urgent my care is. I think at some point I'm going to have to have a spinal tap done, maybe a stent put in. Not looking forward to that, especially as time drags on and my condition gets worse. So far there isn't much changed.” (Participant 625) |
| “Every three months they're following me now. He's gonna call me, see how I'm feeling, and then a month later I have a CT scan or MRI. I forget. But they're gonna stay on top of me now because that's how close it was at the last time, to the end. 'Cause your skull doesn't expand when the pressure's getting worse and worse and worse, obviously, so it was really close for me. I’m very lucky.” (Participant 642) | |
| “Maybe if I had something really wrong with me, I'd have to go in and see somebody. But [Neurosurgeon] from the hydrocephalus clinic, he phoned, went through it all, and was satisfied with the answers. I think my state of health here right now is pretty even so; maybe if there was something bothering me or coming up, I think it pays to see the doctor once in a while. It makes you feel more confident if you had your shunt just checked.” (Participant 650) | |
| 3.2 Attitudes about infection risk | “I guess I'm not sure what to think about it because I've got two thoughts in my head that it is a very – uh, disease that can… constrict breathing? I can't think of the word for it. But, I'm not sure, in the healthier people if it's as dangerous as they say.” (Participant 619) |
| “Some of the younger people in our cul-de-sac have decided that they would do our shopping for us, so all we do is give them a list and they hop around and get whatever we want and bring it back. And they keep their distance and we're careful what we touch, and it's worked great.” (Participant 625) | |
| “My husband goes, I was too weary to go. Because I think – if I went – I'm too afraid of getting the virus. I think you feel like your freedom is restricted a bit; there'll be lots of rules I guess. But, like I said, I'm very careful. I'm not rushing anything, because I want to make sure that they're safe and I'm safe.” (Participant 622) | |
| 3.3 Changes in mental health | “When it first happened, I had a bit of depression. At the start of the pandemic, it was the anxiety and depression that were bad. It was just the number of people that were dying, and worrying about my family.” (Participant 639) |
| “It may have nothing to do with it, but I've never really – except for very short periods of time in my life – had one or two nights where I had difficulty sleeping. Now I'm having difficulty getting to sleep, and depression.” (Participant 604) | |
| “Well I don't have a great deal of anxiety and I don't particularly feel depressed, [to be] honest. I mean, there are days when I think I'm getting tired of this, but it – you know – it's not a full-blown depression.” (Participant 624) |
Abbreviations: CT, computed tomography: MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.