Ilse Weeghmans - director Vlaams Patiëntenplatform

Care is in small gestures of every day: caring for our children, for our parents, for our pets, when we comfort each other, ... these are small gestures that indicate that we care about each other. When you are admitted to a hospital as a patient, you are at your smallest. Fear of what is to come, the pain, the uncertainty, a diagnosis you dread, a long treatment,... every patient reacts differently because the patient does not exist. And as a patient, it's not only the medical side that keeps you busy, but also: How do you tell that diagnosis to the children? How will the grandchildren react when they come to visit? When can you go back to work? And will you be able to keep working? How will you manage your household in the coming months?

Small great moments of care, Mangomoments, are not as small as they seem because they require a caregiver to see more than just the patient and to sense what the patient needs at that moment. And no, repetition of the same 'trick' will not work.