“But he looks great”
“He doesn’t look sick”
“You’d never know anything was wrong with him”
“He must be doing a lot better”
I’ll admit, I was probably the most naïve of all of us when it came to understanding Saul’s diagnosis. I know I’ve already discussed it- but when we were told Saul was “diabetic” I was like “uh. okay,” and kinda shrugged my shoulders.
My initial gut reaction was “God, it’s not that bad.” I still remember thinking “well… no more sweets” and “so he has to take shots… I can give shots” and there are tons of people walking around who are diabetic… (I mean… granted they’re all OLD)… but really, “What’s the big deal?”
I know that so many of you out there think the same thing… and feel the same way… because seriously… sometimes those same thoughts still creep up.
.… and sometimes I hear/and am part of conversations that go like this…
(speaker): “you know (so and so) is diabetic and they’ve had it for years…. and they’ve never had any complications. They live like a normal life and are fine. I don’t know why you get so upset about Saul having diabetes.”
(speaker): “yeah, we have all kinds of diabetic kids at our school so it’s no big deal, they just go to the nurse a lot.”
(speaker): “they have a pump and you’d never know it. They never make a big deal about any of the stuff you ever talk about.”
(speaker): “why do you make such a big deal about diabetes… so he can’t have candy and sweets-it’s not like it’s the end of the world.”
(speaker): “yeah our cat is diabetic. We have to give him shots. How cool is that that- our cat and your kid.”
Do I want Saul to walk around sick all the time- teetering between ketoacidosis and hypoglycemia? Do I want him to live a life of surviving one coma to the next… one seizure after another?…. Do I want to constantly blog from ambulances and hospital rooms… just so I can prove to myself and the world that living with Type 1 diabetes is in fact, a life-threatening, inescapable disease that we all must learn to manage and control?
Counting every carb in every bite of food that enters his mouth, calculating doses of insulin and giving injections, waking up 3 and 4 times in the middle of the night EVERY night to check blood sugar levels… these things are easy in comparison to attempting to explain Type 1 diabetes in a toddler and how it effects that individual and their loved ones.
Several events have transpired since that “Debbie- Downer- Walking- Dead” post.
I had a thoughtful (albeit unfinished) conversation with my guru Ashley. I pondered similar thoughts outlined by Type 1 blogger Kerri over at Six Until Me. I spent several days this week suffering through “sick day management” while I myself was sick. I’ve dealt with a few too many hypo episodes following this last change in Saul’s insulin regiment.
I know Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t have to be a death sentence…
But it also doesn’t mean settling.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. I feel compelled to advocate. Not just for Saul, but for everyone out there affected by this crazy disease – whether they look sick or not.
You can help Saul and others by educating yourself- something I wish I’d done before January 27th.
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