Peer resource consulting: redesigning a new future

Abstract

The current case describes a young woman with diabetes mellitus who developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and many other devastating complications related to her primary illness. Her experience illustrates many ways in which complicated illness can interrupt life's plans, dashing any dreams that she or her family might have for the future. Yet her story also illustrates the important role that a trained Peer Resource Consultant (PRC) can play in helping to better understand chronic illness, face and grieve losses, and even design new plans and create new dreams for the future. The discussion that follows includes several perspectives that offer poignant insight into the difficult situations characterized by the young diabetic with ESRD.