It's a family affair

When a family member has chronic illness, Abram Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid might look more like a block of Swiss cheese than a model of human fulfillment.

Many years ago, Abram Maslow created a diagram called the “Hierarchy of Needs.” This hierarchy shows which needs are most crucial to humans. The wide base of Maslow's pyramid diagram represents basic needs - food, water, shelter, clean air. The next level up are security needs followed by love and belonging. In a healthy, functioning family system all these needs are met but life is messy and things are less than picture (or diagram) perfect. Add chronic illness into the mix and our pyramid might look more like a block of Swiss cheese than a model of human fulfillment.

But every once in a while we encounter one of those functional families and our faith in this human journey is restored. That’s why it was an incredible privilege to spend a few pre-pandemic days with the Morales family. On a sunny afternoon in February 2020, Rene Morales, his wife and two grown kids gathered to make homemade pizzas and candidly share how his Trigeminal Neuralgia diagnosis had affected their lives.

They offered a moving and intimate window into the breadth of the individual and collective experiences of a family in the throes of adversity. Loneliness, confusion and guilt were fluidly expressed alongside silliness, adoration and respect. It was clear that adjusting to their new normal as a family was an ongoing process but one that had deepened and strengthened their bond in unexpected and rewarding ways.  

And while we may not have been privy to the secret Morales marinara recipe, we did wrap our filming with full bellies and fuller hearts, nourished by one family’s profound commitment to loving through all of life’s uncertainties.