Please take a minute to read. This is what everyday of our type 1 lives are filled with... Tanya Parrott Moder wrote
If there was one piece of wisdom I could share with parents of children newly diagnosed with T1 it would be to stop asking when life is going to get back to being normal. It isn't...EVER.
Instead you have to redefine normal and acclimate yourself to your new life. It's not "normal" to stick your child and make them bleed 10 times a day, nor is it "normal" to give them 5 shots every day. Most people don't have to stop whatever they're doing to treat highs and lows, they don't have to leave work and rush to school because the nurse can't handle a situation. They will never understand the 2nd language we have come to speak full of phrases like "1 unit for every 7 carbs" or "25 with meals with 1 for every 50 over 130" and they most certainly don't have to wake up three times a night to check their child's blood sugar because if they don't they may find their child dead in bed.
"Normal" parents automatically punish their kids for acting up, but D-Parents learn quickly when our kids act up our first action must be to check their blood sugar because it might not be a temper tantrum or a sarcastic teen we're dealing with, but rather a dangerous blood sugar level.
We become walking, talking freaking medical encyclopedias and have to stay on top of dozens of research projects and new medications, because these may one day save our children. We have to get past our shyness and learn to go toe-to-toe with doctors and nurses who view our children as their disease or just another medical file...or worse yet confuse them with another patient.
And while doing all of this we have to assure our children that they aren't freaks, teach them to ignore the looks adults give and the taunting of other children. We must encourage them to grow and become productive adults and not use their disease as an excuse.
We must educate friends and family, school officials and any other person who is part of our children's lives. We must tolerate the ignorance of people who make statements like "Oh, she's not over that yet" and "well, if she would just eat better she wouldn't have diabetes" and we must stand firm against the idiotic gold diggers who promise miracle cures of rare teas or roots and berries just to line their pockets with our money.
We will have to explain that our children have an autoimmune disease and there is NOTHING we could have done to prevent this illness. We have to learn to stop beating ourselves up...because it really ISN'T our fault.
Our new "normal" become days filled with terror, anger, fear, and exhaustion...but we learn to cope because it's what we must do to save our children. and become stronger than we ever thought we could be.
If there was one piece of wisdom I could share with parents of children newly diagnosed with T1 it would be to stop asking when life is going to get back to being normal. It isn't...EVER.
Instead you have to redefine normal and acclimate yourself to your new life. It's not "normal" to stick your child and make them bleed 10 times a day, nor is it "normal" to give them 5 shots every day. Most people don't have to stop whatever they're doing to treat highs and lows, they don't have to leave work and rush to school because the nurse can't handle a situation. They will never understand the 2nd language we have come to speak full of phrases like "1 unit for every 7 carbs" or "25 with meals with 1 for every 50 over 130" and they most certainly don't have to wake up three times a night to check their child's blood sugar because if they don't they may find their child dead in bed.
"Normal" parents automatically punish their kids for acting up, but D-Parents learn quickly when our kids act up our first action must be to check their blood sugar because it might not be a temper tantrum or a sarcastic teen we're dealing with, but rather a dangerous blood sugar level.
We become walking, talking freaking medical encyclopedias and have to stay on top of dozens of research projects and new medications, because these may one day save our children. We have to get past our shyness and learn to go toe-to-toe with doctors and nurses who view our children as their disease or just another medical file...or worse yet confuse them with another patient.
And while doing all of this we have to assure our children that they aren't freaks, teach them to ignore the looks adults give and the taunting of other children. We must encourage them to grow and become productive adults and not use their disease as an excuse.
We must educate friends and family, school officials and any other person who is part of our children's lives. We must tolerate the ignorance of people who make statements like "Oh, she's not over that yet" and "well, if she would just eat better she wouldn't have diabetes" and we must stand firm against the idiotic gold diggers who promise miracle cures of rare teas or roots and berries just to line their pockets with our money.
We will have to explain that our children have an autoimmune disease and there is NOTHING we could have done to prevent this illness. We have to learn to stop beating ourselves up...because it really ISN'T our fault.
Our new "normal" become days filled with terror, anger, fear, and exhaustion...but we learn to cope because it's what we must do to save our children. and become stronger than we ever thought we could be.
:) Bravo...well said.
ReplyDelete