Tuesday, August 22, 2006

A little reminder

A while back, Riley was showing some interest in soccer. So, when we saw an article in the paper that showed they had sign-ups for soccer for Riley's age, we signed him up.

To say I wasn't a little anxious would be a lie. I wasn't too worried, but I did think about what the extra activity might do to his sugar. The thought of him falling out on the field did cross my mind.

Riley had his first practice today. I felt pretty good about it. He had just eaten about an hour prior to practice and was 292 when practice began. No real worry of him dropping too low.

Even so, when we pulled up to the field, I reminded Riley if he started to feel like his sugar was low that it was very important to tell someone. He said, " Well, Mom, I bet someone else here has diabetes too." I told him "probably not". All the time thinking we'd be lucky if anyone there even knew what Type 1 diabetes is.

His coach is a woman. About half way through the practice I noticed what was written on her T-shirt: Camp Needles In The Pines At first I wasn't sure why that sounded so familiar. But, when I realized where I had heard it before, my heart started to beat a little faster.

Camp Needles In The Pines is a camp in NC for children with diabetes. All I could think was "Why is she wearing that shirt? Maybe she works at the camp. Maybe her child has D." I quickly scanned the field for any signs of a kid with a pump. I didn't see one. Still, she had to be associated with diabetes in some way.

When practice was over, she came up to ask me if Riley was doing OK. She knew he has D because I had put it on the soccer application. Turns out she's a diabetes educator! That really helped to ease my nerves a bit. At least she knows something about diabetes and will most likely know when to alert me that something may be going on with Riley.

She brought snacks and juice for all the kids. She even had sugar free koolaide just for Riley. She made sure to tell me that it had 2g carbs in it.

I just feel so blessed right now. I don't think it's a coincidence that the soccer league that we signed Riley up for has a diabetes educator as a coach. And, she got to be Riley's coach. She's coaching Riley's age group because she has a son that is Riley's age.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the sugars and trying to control them that I forget who is really in charge. I think this just might be God's way of reminding me I'm not alone in all of this. He's watching out for Riley too.

10 comments:

Laura said...

Sorry i forgot my name and i thought the last post was the one but it wasnt so i made a new blog

Vivian said...

Penny, you always seem to make me cry. I am so glad the Big Guy made His hand visible to you. That is an awesome turn of events. I really hope Riley has a great season and that you can enjoy it too. Hang in there, the cure it is a comin'. :o)
Viv

Christine said...

That's awesome! I bet you feel great about him playing soccer now!

Anonymous said...

Ditto:
AWESOME!

Kassie said...

That's fantastic!

Scott K. Johnson said...

What a great "little" sign from the big guy upstairs!

Good luck to Riley and I'm sure he'll have a blast learning about soccer.

Jamie said...

Isn't it like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders? That is awesome news. I know I felt the same way when I found out that the new teacher Danielle's nursery school hired is Diabetic herself ..... wow.

I'm sure he's going to have a blast during this soccer season!

Sandra Miller said...

Fantastic!

Sounds like Riley (and you) will have a wonderful season of soccer!

Minnesota Nice said...

There are no accidents. What a delightful surprise.

Anonymous said...

Isn't life full of wonderful surprises? I'm glad Riley got a coach who has a lot of experience with diabetes. It'll allow you to be anxious about him playing. I loved it that she thought enough to bring him some sugar-free koolaid so he didn't feel left out.

He'll have a great season.

Brit