The family living the child recovery process after hospital discharge.

Objective: to understand the meaning attributed by the family to its experience in the recovery process of a child affected by an acute disease after discharge, and to develop a theoretical model of this experience. Symbolic interactionism was adopted as a theoretical reference, and grounded theory was adopted as a methodological reference.

Method: data were collected through interviews and participant observation with 11 families, totaling 15 interviews. A theoretical model consisting of two interactive phenomena was formulated from the analysis: Mobilizing to restore functional balance and Suffering from the possibility of a child's readmission.

Results: the family remains alert to identify early changes in the child's health, in an attempt to avoid rehospitalization.

Conclusion: the effects of the disease and hospitalization continue to manifest in family functioning, causing suffering even after the child's discharge and recovery.