Being the parent of a diabetic child means....
---awakening each day with a hope for a cure and then living the rest of the day as if there will never be one.
---being awakened suddenly at 2 AM with a feeling that something is wrong and when you check, your child's sugar is low. After you get it back up, you lie awake the rest of the night wondering what horrible things could have happened had you not woken up when you did.
---trying to have a conversation with someone, while eating and keeping an eye on every bite your child eats so you can bolus accordingly.
---feeling guilty for just wanting some time to yourself to not think about diabetes.
---never, ever sleeping through the night.
---feeling like you always have to be strong, but never feeling like you're strong enough.
---trying to teach your child how important it is to take care of himself while at the same time trying to teach him not to let diabetes consume his life.
---having to kiss your child and tell him how sorry you are for things that are beyond your control.
---crying tears of sorrow for what your child has to deal with on a daily basis and moments later tears of joy because he's alive and he's yours.
4 comments:
--Being amazed at how brave our children are for dealing with the pokes and highs and lows as though it were old hat.
Everything you wrote rings so true for me :)
I am the mother of a 15 yo Type 1 who is my hero. I am constantly amazed at the way he lives his life without letting the D consume him. He amazes me daily and he's not afraid. I am the daughter of a Type 1 who died young and I will never stop being afraid for my son, but he encourages me with his ability to go out and take on the world without worrying about D.
Penny,
This was a very touching post for me to read.
As I grew up and had kids of my own, my appreciation for what my parents did for me when I was young just increased tenfold.
Based on your posts, I think you are doing a fine job.
Thanks for sharing.
This is a very touching post.
It has been so good for me, reading blogs by parents of kids with diabetes, finally getting to understand what diabetes meant for my parents when I was a child.
Fortunately diabetes is not the most dominant memory of my childhood. At times it doesn't feature at all. I'm sure this will be the case for all of the OC parents' kids too, based on the great job you are all doing.
Thank you for sharing these sentiments.
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