1) Be independent 2) Contend 3) Cope 4) Deal 5) Fight off 6) Get by 7) Grapple 8) Keep off 9) Make an effort to resist 10) Make do 11) Make out 12) Manage 13) Manage independently 14) Manage the operation of 15) Manage without assistance 16) Manage without help 17) Parry 18) Repel; manage 19) Resist 
• (v. i.) To act on the defensive, or in opposition; to resist; to parry; to shift off. • (v. t.) To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off; as, to fend off blows. • (n.) A fiend.
Federation of European Nurses in Diabetes
Fend intransitive verb To act on the defensive, or in opposition; to resist; to parry; to shift off. « The dexterous management of terms, and being able to fend . . . with them, passes for a great part of learning.» Locke. Fend noun A fiend. [ Obsolete] Chaucer. Fend transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Fended ; present participle & verbal noun Fending .] [ Abbrev. from defend .] To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off ;...
[v] - try to manage without help
verb try to manage without help; `The youngsters had to fend for themselves after their parents died`
[Literary terms] withstand the force of something