d blog day

Blogger Gina Capone came up with the idea of Diabetes Blog Day. This year's topic is: 6 things I want people to know about diabetes.

1. There's more than one type of diabetes, Oprah. The kind my daughter has is Type 1. The kind that gets the bulk of the media attention is Type 2. There's also Type 1.5/LADA. Not to mention gestational diabetes, pre-diabetes, and the list goes on. While they all share certain characteristics, they have different causes and the treatment for each varies.

2. Insulin is not a cure. It is a treatment that allows my kid to live a life as close to the one she was living before diagnosis. But until there is a cure for diabetes, she will be dependent on insulin for the rest of her life.

3. Insulin therapy is a balancing act consisting of constantly fluctuating variables that, if miscalculated, have a side effect of either a) immediate death or b) shortened life expectancy due to hypertension, heart disease or kidney failure, among others.

4. My kid checks her blood sugar every three hours, in addition to before she eats or exercises, or if she feels like she's having a low blood sugar. She has checked it in math class, in the checkout line at Sears, at the model kitchen table in IKEA, at the water park, before laser tag, in the car, on the airplane, at the pumpkin patch. When she's asleep, my husband or I do it for her. She's usually so discreet you may not even see her doing it. But if you do, it's okay to ask about it. We prefer that to staring.

5. If you ask me how things are going, and I say "Fine", what I mean is, I am exhausted by performing the functions of my child's pancreas, which most people (myself included) take for granted and go about their daily business not giving a second thought to. I am thinking about it constantly. I feel like I am talking about it constantly. Any conversation I am engaged in, I can find a way to relate it to carb counting or insulin ratios or CGMs or fluctuating hormones due to puberty and their effect on blood sugar, etc. But I usually refrain from doing so because that would just drive everyone crazy. Also, as my favorite quote says, "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle". You've got your own battle, and you don't need to hear about the minutia of mine. But I do thank you for asking.

6. Diabetes is a mothertrucker, but it has brought our family closer together. I tell my daughter if I could have it instead of her I would, in a heartbeat. She says, "You don't know what it's really like. If you did, you wouldn't say that." I tell her that I understand why she would feel that way, but as a parent, you would take on any pain so that your child doesn't have to. She tells me that if she decides to have kids when she gets older, she thinks she'll probably adopt, because she doesn't want to take the chance that her kid would get diabetes. My heart breaks a little, and I hug her tightly.

When I was pregnant I never imagined having such a conversation with her (in the 5th grade, no less!). But this is our life and all we can do is move forward. She amazes me with her strength and humor on a daily basis. I couldn't be more proud of her. My husband and daughter and I are now much closer than we were before, and the support of our friends and family is invaluable. Thank you.

[edited to add: L wrote her own post for d blog day, and you can read it here.]