. To experience your adolescent with the needs of “a baby” and balancing your assistanceEve said, “it was difficult to see him as helpless as a baby.” Her judgment was not made in a paternalistic sense, but was more related to her unconditional maternal love. This was an important existential phenomenological finding that said more than many words; her son's needs like a baby were against all expectations to life and underscored the severity of the situation. Eve pointed to how different the situation for herself and her son had become. Also, she worried about her son's dignity, and how she could avoid influencing this negatively. It was a challenge to cope with the situation, trying to read when to help and when not to interfere. This implied ensuring that all your adolescent's needs were met while at the same time preserving his dignity. Eve gave an example. “They expected him to eat without assistance, and do you know what, they served soup and by the time he had got the spoon into his mouth, there was nothing left on it. That was enough for me, I could see that he was on the verge of crying, so I took over.” Eve drew the line when the staff asked if she would bathe her son. This indicates that some aid from a mother to an adolescent may be experienced as unacceptable. As her son's condition improved during the rehabilitation, his need for help changed. Eve explained, “I had difficulty keeping up with him, when he started getting better.” Eve gave an example of how fast his need for help could change; “After two days, he actually began to snarl at me and said that he could manage, thank you very much. I overstepped his limit there and took over where I shouldn't have. Being a mother in a situation like this is like walking a tightrope.” The challenge was to balance the support neither helping too little nor too much.