When we Lose one, Everyone Grieves

We lost another one. I didn’t know her, nor do I know her family, so I will not post details. I’m honestly not sure what to write about this. It’s a surreal feeling to be devastated by the loss of someone you didn’t know. But it happens. You join in their successes, rally behind them in their struggles, and grieve their losses.

There are many benefits to being in a group of people who have type 1 diabetes. I am in many. Some are local, some are for parents, some are for anyone who deals with the disease. I run a couple myself. You can get tips, celebrate big moments, and vent about T1 when it just won’t stop kicking you.

You get to know people, even if you don’t directly interact with them. You see their story, recognize their name, and feel a bizarre closeness with people halfway around the world, even though you will never meet them.

People post about the good and the bad. And the bad is heartbreaking.

Every day, there is at least one person asking for prayers because their child is in the hospital. And when you see a post like that, you follow it until you see they’re home safe and sound.

But that doesn’t always happen. It didn’t happen this time.

And you won’t hear about it.

It won’t be in the news or in the newspaper. This happens more often than you will ever know.

It happens more than any of us will ever know. For each person who shares their struggle, there are many more who do not.

Diabetes is the “new normal”. It’s what we have to deal with for the rest of our lives, or in cases like mine, for the rest of our child’s life. We are aware of how easily it can take a bad turn. We know how many things could go wrong at any given moment. But we push it to the back of our minds, because if we don’t, it would paralyze us.

The short amount of time it takes for a T1D to go from healthy and active to being in the hospital is terrifying. The small things that can take a normal day and flip it upside down are unbelievable.

When we lose one, everyone grieves

When we lose one, our hope is replaced with fear.

We see how quickly things can change. We can see our child in the one that was lost.

We want to know what happened, so we can prevent it from happening to our own children.

But then, when we find out what happened, we realize some things are not preventable. Sometimes bad things happen and we can’t fix it.

It’s not anyone’s fault, no one did anything wrong. There’s nothing we can do about it.

And that haunts us. So we grieve.

But it’s not the norm

People can die from T1D. It happens all the time for countless reasons. But many more thrive with the disease.

So many people aspire to greatness. We have type 1 diabetics in professional sports, politicians, doctors, scientists, actors, Olympians, singers, and much more.

There are type 1 diabetics in their 80’s and 90’s who have had the disease since they were small children.

Children, going to school, doing their own shots, counting carbs, being everyday heroes and warriors.

Knowing about these possibilities gives us hope.

Please don’t let your fear take over your hope. Don’t let negative situations stop you from being positive.

Grieve, but don’t get lost in that grief.

To the ones taken from us too soon: Rest in Peace

~ Leah

Help find a cure for T1D! Visit FaustmanLab.org to donate to Dr. Denise Faustman’s very promising clinical trial research.