Objective:

To understand the meaning attributed by parents to the experience of being with their hospitalized child in an oncology unit of a public hospital in Chile.

Methodology:

Interpretative research paradigm, Van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants and the narratives were analyzed by means of a thematic analysis with selective reading approach. The article was approved by the ethics committee of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Results:

The experience of hospitalization meant “It turns life upside down”; this outcome was shaped by two structures: 1) “When they give you the diagnosis your world falls apart”, which contains difficult moments such as the hospitalization when they receive the diagnosis, the moments when the child suffers, life-threatening situations, the tiredness of mothers and fathers and the changes that affect the family, and 2) “Receiving a helping light during hospitalization”, which describes the importance of a quiet physical space, a health team with a caring treatment and sharing experiences with other parents.

Conclusions:

Hospitalization represents a transformation in the life world of parents, it is vital that the health team attends to the physical and emotional needs that derive from this change in the space and relationships they experience.

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