By Jennifer Griffin
You read that right, I hate diabetes. I said it. A lot of caregivers think it, but it’s not supposed to be said out loud (or written down!). We’re supposed to be strong, encouraging, and supportive of our little warriors. We’re supposed to stay calm, focus on fixing the problem and let kids be kids. But let’s face it, there’s a lot of things to hate about this thing we call type 1 diabetes.
- 3AM Juice parties and 3:20 and 3:40 and 4:00 and darn now she’s too high.
- Saying no to ice cream because through no fault of her own, she’s been 350 all day.
- Spending 3 hours on the phone with the insurance company trying to get them to cover the medication that will literally keep her alive.
- Watching your two year old meltdown in Target, knowing it’s a high BG and that everyone around you thinks you’re a terrible mom.
- Holding your seven year old as they cry because some little kid told the whole class she was contagious and now no one will sit with her.
- Letting your 10 year old go to a sleepover, hoping you won’t have to call the house at 3am because the Dex is alerting low, or worse, not having a Dex and just worrying all night.
- Letting your 16 year old drive alone for the first time, praying that she’ll check her sugar before starting the car, knowing she probably won’t.
- Letting your 18 year old go off to college, hoping you taught her well enough to stay out of the hospital.
Now, before you throw in the towel, let me tell you why it’s not all bad.
- 3AM juice parties, as I laid next to her bed, holding her tiny hand, watching her sleep.
- Saying yes to ice cream because a 50 is a good reason to have ice cream.
- Knowing that 100 years ago I would be spending hours in the hospital watching my child waste away and die.
- Asking your child “are you high?” in public and waiting to see reactions from nearby judgy moms.
- Going into the classroom and teaching the kids what diabetes is and what makes my kid so awesome.
- Sending my 10 year old to diabetes camp, knowing she’ll be safe and I can SLEEP for a week.
- Watching as my child matures enough to handle things on her own, instead of relying on mom and dad to be the pancreas.
- Knowing I’ve done everything I can to help her grow up and realizing she will make the same mistakes I did, but knowing she has more empathy, more responsibility, and more maturity than most kids her age.
So, hang in there caregivers – look for silver linings, take advantage of the opportunities as they come (meeting the governor at the Children’s Diabetes Foundation’s Carousel Ball was almost as cool as meeting all of the Avalanche players), and remember: you have a kid with diabetes, diabetes does not have your kid!
