Right now, as you’re reading this, someone is dying from undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. It could be your cousin, your neighbor, your kindergarten teacher’s aunt’s new boyfriend. It could be anybody. What if you could save them? Not prevent the diagnosis, that will happen no matter what, but what if you could save them from dying? What would you do to save a life? [Read more…]
Recent Posts
Type 1 Diabetes is like Driving a Standard Car
Over the years, people have asked me things like, “is his diabetes stable?”, or “why do you need to check his blood sugar so often?”, or “you don’t have to do much anymore… now that he has an insulin pump. Right?” To be honest, I’m never sure how to respond to these questions. For months, I have been trying to figure out an analogy that might explain that “stable” is not a word we often use to describe T1D. Lucky for me, another T1 Mom has explained it very well, using cars. [Read more…]
Where is My Village? A Story of the T1D Parent
My daughter came home from school and told us all about a play they had done in her kindergarten class. “Have you heard of The Little Red Hen?” she asked. You know the story… the Little Red Hen wants to bake a loaf of bread. But no one will help her make it. As my daughter explained the play in enormous detail, I couldn’t help but see a parallel between the story and raising a child with type 1 diabetes. [Read more…]
A Glimpse Inside the Life of a T1D Mom
Oh my gosh!! You know that family member whose child was recently diagnosed with diabetes? They’re ALWAYS talking about it, like it’s a big deal or something. I mean seriously, it’s only diabetes, they’re clearly over-reacting and just want attention. It can’t be that hard. Or what about that co-worker who is always checking their phone (while they’re supposed to be working!!) because they say their child is constantly in danger. They act like their child will die if they don’t check their phone. It’s getting ridiculous! [Read more…]
Finding your T1D Community
So, you’ve gone through the diagnosis and entered into your “new normal”. Now you’re realizing that most of the people you know don’t know the first thing about T1D. You weren’t given a magical piece of paper connecting you to other T1 families. So how can you find other people who understand what you’re going through? [Read more…]
8+ Inspiring Olympic Athletes with T1D
Living with T1D can be discouraging sometimes. With all that goes into managing the disease, we can easily lose sight of our abilities and how successful we can be while dealing with this 24/7 addition to our lives. We tell our kids that people with T1D can do anything that anyone else can do… except make their own insulin. Here is a list of athletes who truly didn’t let T1D stop them from their goals and dreams. Meet athletes in sports of all kinds from all over the world who competed in the Olympic Games while managing their T1D.
[Read more…]Journey to better T1D Management: Community
I looked at the paper in my hand and the two email addresses I had been given. This world was new to me, but why would I contact people I had never met just because their children had the same disease as mine? The doctor had said we might want to meet up with them. They would be supportive. They would understand what we were going through. But I had family and friends. We had a support system. Why would I ever need these email addresses? [Read more…]
I would Give you my Pancreas, if only it were Possible
Dear sweet child:
Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I had T1D instead of you. I would trade places with you in a second. Without batting an eye, I would take it all away from you and place the stress and work solely on my shoulders. I would give you my pancreas, if only it were possible.
[Read more…]Reflections from Mother of a Young Child with T1D
Since T1D can be diagnosed at any age, people tend to wonder, what is the “best” age to be diagnosed? Whether it’s your baby, toddler, child, teen, or adult child who is diagnosed, being a parent of someone with T1D is hard. Each stage has aspects that are easier than the other ages, and it also has aspects that are more difficult. With my own son being diagnosed when he was 2, I found this post by another D-Mom to be very reflective of my own feelings in the early days. [Read more…]
5 Reasons to avoid Sugar-Free Candy and Chocolate
Shortly after my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a funny thing happened. People started giving us “diabetic” candy for him. We knew it was well-intentioned and we appreciated the effort. Nevertheless, it all went straight into the trash. [Read more…]