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Sunday, August 5, 2012

Why a Diabetes Alert Dog? (Part 2)

This is the second installment of "Why a Diabetes Alert Dog?". These posts are really meant to fill everyone in on some of the new challenges we are facing and how the addition of a service dog to our family will help alleviate some of the new found pressures we are feeling.

I would like to dedicate this particular post to Mason, He is Bella's big brother, or "Bubby" as she calls him. Mason is about to go into the second grade, he is an avid reader (and sometimes a little too avid of a TV watcher), and loves Starwars, Legos and Ninjago. He is what we call a puzzler, he has an analytical mind and has questions about everything. (Really. Everything.) His preschool teacher nicknamed him "The Professor" and his Kindergarten teacher created an award for his unending curiosity and questioning nature.

Mason visits Bella in the Hospital Playroom
The reason I wanted to dedicate this post to him is because this disease has impacted him in different ways than Kat and I. I wanted to, in someway, acknowledge his sacrifice and hardships that I know he's going through because of Bella's T1-D.

As a seven year-old he has an understanding of how serious Bella's situation can be, but there are certain things that are difficult for him to grasp still. The biggest of which is food distribution. All of his life he's been able to eat when he's hungry. Now because of T1-D management there are only certain snack windows. I know this frustrates him having to be on his sister's schedule. He is trying but will beg for food setting off a chain-reaction which can be hard to get a handle on.

The biggest thing. The reason I dreaded writing this. The thing Mason would never admit. Is the attention. I have said "Not right now, Mas" or "Just let me finish this thing first" more times than I care to admit over the past month and a half. Mason doesn't get the donations or the webpage. He generally has to wait until we "check a guy" or get Bella her shot. Bella is under constant surveillance by us and as we are learning how to deal with all of this Mason has had to wait his turn. We have made an effort to not leave him out of Bella's care, and to be a part of the D.A.D. process. Maybe it's just parental guilt talking, but this must be the stinkiest summer vacation ever.

Mason and Bella adore one another. Bella does everything Bubby does, and we have put him to work in getting her to eat in a timely manner and do what she is supposed to. He has been the best big brother since the day Bella was born and will continue to be. He hasn't complained once about all the changes we've gone through and all the changes he's had to make.


This picture says everything about their relationship.
Although we try our best, here's hoping that once the D.A.D. is here and trained it will free up some more one on one time for Mason.

-n.

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