This is a qualitative research, with phenomenological approach, that aimed to understand the family expectations regarding the future of a family member suffering of schizophrenia. For data collection, interviews were carried out with six relatives of schizophrenic patients of the municipal district of Maringá-PR, during the months of May and June, 2008. The analysis brought up a central theme, The temporality of being with a schizophrenic individual, and, from that, three sub-themes: Worrying about the abandonment, Experiencing despair and uncertainty and Living the hope for cure. The study called our attention to the importance of time in the universe of nursing care, so often neglected by us, health professionals, for we do not understand the meaning of temporality in the living experience of the beings we care for.
Nursing; Nursing care; Family, Interpersonal relationship