Saturday, November 11, 2006

A Four Year Old's Perspective

First, Daniel wrote a short post about diabetes. I thought it was great. Then Scott commented that he couldn't wait until Riley could do a post. Since he's only 4, that would be awhile.

So, I decided I would interview Riley. There are some "getting to know you" questions and also some questions about diabetes.

#1) What is your favorite movie?
"Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties"

#2) Favorite TV show?
"Tom and Jerry"

#3) Favorite food?
"Dinosaur oatmeal"

#4) Favorite song?
"Get Back, Get Back (You Don't Know Me Like That)

#5) What did you do yesterday?
"played Fusion Frenzy and watched Spongebob"

#6) What is your favorite thing about Mommy?
"Her hugs"
Daddy?
"Kisses"
Holden?
"He loves me."

#7) What is your favorite sport?
"baseball"
Favorite team?
"Marlins"
Favorite player?
" David Ortiz"

#8) Is it hard having diabetes?
"Yes"
Why?
"Cause you have to give you insulin and check your sugars."

#9) Is there anything good about having diabetes?
"Yes. You change your needles, cause that's what you're supposed to do."

#10) What is the worst thing about having D?
"giving shots"

#11) Can you eat anything you want?
"No. I can't eat poptarts and sugar."

#12) How do feel when you're sugar is low?
"bad"
Does it hurt?
"Well, my tummy does."

#13) Does it hurt to check your sugar?
"No"

#14) Do you like wearing a pump?
"Yes. Cause you don't have to take two shots."

#15) Do you think there will ever be a cure?
"Yes"

#16) What will you do if there is a cure?
" When they send it to us I'm going to eat and drink whatever I want."

#17) What would you say to another little boy or girl who just got diabetes?
"I'm sorry you have diabetes."


That's my boy.


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for doing this. It was truly precious. Riley sounds amazing!

Anonymous said...

Awesome . I Love Tom and Jerry and i have to admit Dinosaur oatmeal is also good

Brittney said...

Riley--Dinosaur oatmeal is the best food ever created, good choice. :-)

Penny--thanks for sharing, he sounds like a great kid.

Brit

Keith said...

As megan said, that was precious. I can't imagine being 4 and having diabetes, especially since I was 11 at dx.

You're doing a great job, Penny!

Chris said...

Thanks for that post i read it over and over. When did he really understand and talk about this anyway? Just wondering
Chris

Major Bedhead said...

That was cute and rather bittersweet.

Penny Ratzlaff said...

Megan--He is amazing.

Laura and Brittney-- I've never tried dinosaur oatmeal, but Riley loves it.

Keith--He just takes it all in stride. Almost like his life has always been this way.

Chris--I'm going to email you with my comment.

Julia--Lots of things are bittersweet when diabetes is in your child's life. Of course, you already know that.

Scott K. Johnson said...

That was GREAT!!! Wonderful idea - thank you for sharing!

And Riley is a Ludacris fan!!! That rocks!!

:-)

Penny Ratzlaff said...

Scott,
I was wondering if anyone would notice that was a Ludacris song. I wouldn't say he's a Ludacris fan, really. He just has a 15 year old brother that listens to that sort of stuff all the time. Holden has a CD he burned that he listens to so he can get pumped up for basketball. That song is on it and Riley likes it. You should see him singing it. It's hilarious. (And, just to clarify, all of these songs on Holden's CDs are edited.)

Anonymous said...

Great post! I love hearing all about Riley lol.

When I was a kid - I loved Tom and Jerry too :)

Anonymous said...

Aw, Penny, what a love! Thanks, I needed this today.

Kerri. said...

How cute! He sounds like a hot ticket.

I think I'm old though: What is dinosaur oatmeal?

I also noticed that his favorite song was by Ludacris. Riley is cool!

Penny Ratzlaff said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Penny Ratzlaff said...

Kerri,
Dinosaur oatmeal is instant oatmeal that has little "dinosaur eggs" in it. When you add the hot water to the oatmeal the eggs melt and out pop tiny edible dinosaurs.

As far as Ludacris goes, I am not a fan. But, Holden is a fan of his and whatever Holden is a fan of, so is Riley.

I do rather enjoy his latest song "Shake Your Moneymaker". I don't really like any of his other songs, but this one, for some reason, makes me want to...well, shake my money maker:-)

Anonymous said...

My son, Cade, is about the same age - and the other I was testing his sugar at a friends out and Cade said to his friend
'You don't need to have a test, only I do because I have diabetes.' - this was just because his friend was watching.
The other one that Cade does say currently is
'Can I have a diabetes coke' - meaning a diet coke.

I suppose it's good, he is not even 5 and already has some idea of what to ask for at parties - but it breaks my heart too.

Chris.

Penny Ratzlaff said...

Hi Chris,
Cade was featured in my Faces of Hope presentation at the walk. He is such a cutey.
It is nice that they have some understanding of their disease, but also heartbreaking that they need to know about it in the first place.
But, "diabetes coke", that's kind of cute.