I-Search Topic Selection

Heather Abner

January 26, 2004

I first started to think about my topic for the I-Search in class on January 17, when we were asked what we might be interested in. You told us to choose something that was important to us and that we were passionate about. It did not take long for me to decide…

My son was born 7 months ago with a congenital heart defect that would be fatal if left untreated. Even now, his long-term outlook is unclear, and we don’t know what is in store for him. Needless to say, I am passionate about finding as much information as possible about his heart defect. So, once I decided to I-search this topic, I wanted to narrow it down some. I started the next step: webbing.

My center topic was congenital heart defects, but I had myself what about this topic do I want to know more about. Of course, I want to know more about everything related…As I started to write down related topics, I realized that there were some things that I am not emotionally ready to learn more about. For example, I wrote down “Long-term Outlook.” It seemed like a valid topic to research, but it is not one that I am ready to research yet. I don’t know if I am ready to face what the future might hold quite yet. So, I started in another direction. If I am not ready emotionally, maybe I need someone to talk to. So, I wrote down “Support Groups.” I would like to know where to find a good support group of people that are experiencing the same feelings that I have about CHDs and my son. So then I asked myself “Where would a likely place be to find support groups?” Also, what do I expect to get out of participating in a support group?

As I think about what I want to learn from the I-search process, I realize that there are probably support groups out there for every type of illness, problem or issue. So, my question broadens my topic… “What types of support groups are available, where can someone find one, and how might they help someone (me) in need?”