For those who care for chronically ill children a new understanding of hope that equips adults to better nurture pediatric hope among sick kidsarticulated by the children themselvesAs anyone with a chronic illness knows hope can sometimes be hard to come by For parents and caregivers of children with serious illness there can be a real struggle to move beyond ones own grief fear and suffering to see what hope means for these kidsDuane Bidwell a scholar minister and former hospital chaplain who has struggled with serious illness himself spent time withchronically ill children in dialysis units and transplant clinics around the United States Chronically ill kids he found dont adhere to popular or scholarly understandings of hope They experience hope as a sense of wellbeing in the present not a promise of future improvement an ability to set goals or the absence of illness and suffering With this mindset these kids suggest a new understanding of pediatric hope saying hope becomes