one of the 80

     According to the JDRF website 80 people per day are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  On Wednesday of this week I knew one of those 80.   One of the ladies I take Zumba with found out that her 8 year old son has T1D.   I am keeping her and her family in my prayers as they adjust to their new life.  I was thinking of what she is going through (her son was at the same hospital M was).  This is what I would tell her.

      On a sleep deprived brain you get a crash course on how to keep your kid alive (they call it diabetes education).  Then you come home and cry.  Your kid is hungry and you are afraid to feed him because you don't know the carb counts in your food you have at home.   You spend the next day home filling prescriptions and learning a new way to grocery shop, reading all nutrition labels for carb counts.  This will take at least three times longer that it used to take you to go grocery shopping.  If you are lucky your child will not fight when you check his BG or give him his injections.   You will realize that you need glasses to see the tiny lines on the syringes.  You will not sleep for at least the next month as you worry about if what you are doing is right.  You may have to fight with the insurance company to get the supplies you need to keep your kid alive. 

     It does get easier.   We switched to the insulin pens at our next appointment (no need to squint at those little lines any more).  We hopefully will find out if M can go on a pump when we follow up at the end of  May.   We go out to restaurants, M has gone to birthday parties, she does dance and gymnastics, and runs and plays like any other kid.    I have realized  that diabetes is not  X + Y = Z.  There are many factors that play into it and what you do one day does not mean you get the same result if you do it again the next day.  We are still adjusting but at about 3 months into this I am starting to feel confident that we can do this!  You will get there too!