Catapulting through life stages. When younger adults are diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.

Knowledge of developmental stages through the life cycle has always been a hallmark of quality nursing care. The knowledge base gleaned from the older adult literature, such as Schachter-Shalomi and Miller's construct of sage-ing (1995), can help nurses understand that many of the completion tasks usually associated with aging suddenly are thrust to the forefront for younger adult patients diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Using this knowledge base, nurses can facilitate developmental stage work facing younger adult patients whose illness catapults them into more mature stages for which they may have been unprepared. When younger adult patients are so diagnosed, nurses need to recognize the signs of catapulting life stage work and support it. It is no small task to complete the gestalt of one's life tapestry, but it is especially difficult when one is young.