Better Late Than Never

I'm a bad diabetes blogger. I missed Raise Your Voice Day. Riley had a school play that day and I just forgot. My bad.


So, I'll raise my voice today as I have countless other times because of Type 1 diabetes.


Lately I've kind of been in a diabetes lull. It's not because Riley's sugars have been good. It's quite the opposite. They've been horrible. He's had a sinus infection and his sugars have been high, higher, and highest lately. But, it hasn't affected me like it used to. I think I've gotten tired of feeling, tired of worrying, only to have to do it over and over again.


And, that scares me. I used to be terribly concerned to the point my eyes would tear up and my stomach would churn. But, lately, I correct and I go on.

Some of you might be thinking that it's good that I'm not letting it affect me. But, it's bad. Very, very bad.

I need to find a middle ground. I need to learn not to let it bother me so much, but it needs to bother me some.

Why?

Because people die from Type 1 diabetes every single day.

Because pretty much everything about my child is affected by this disease. It affects his organs, it affects his moods, it affects his sleep, it affects his play, it affects his eating.

Because if it doesn't bother me why would it bother the general public?

There are 30,000 cases of Type 1 diabetes diagnosed every year in the United States. That's just the US. It doesn't take into account the other thousands that are diagnosed in other countries.

Why should we raise our voices to bring awareness about Type 1 diabetes? This study is a very good reason why.

Some highlights from the study:

• According to a recent nationwide survey released today, nearly 80 percent of the American public does not know the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
  
  In the survey, nearly 70 percent of people incorrectly believed a cure existed for type 1 diabetes. The majority of respondents mentioned proper diet (25%), weight loss (18%), exercise (22%), insulin (16%) or other medication (12%) – as ways patients could cure their type 1 diabetes.

If 70% of people believe a cure already exists then why in the world would they donate money or time to find one?

It is up to us to make them care. And, to do that, we must first care ourselves.

We must first admit how horrible and insidious this disease is. If we treat it as "no big deal" so will everyone else.

It is a big deal. And it should be treated as such.

Don't have a child with diabetes? Read the study that says that "Type 1 Diabetes May Be Rising in Kids". The chances of your child developing Type 1 diabetes are higher now than ever.

After writing this post maybe I've found my middle ground. I don't need to tear up and get all mushy inside when Riley runs high for a while. What I need to do is react to the situation and take steps to make sure the situation doesn't happen again.

One way I can do that is to raise my one small voice and yell as loudly as I can that my son and all the others with Type 1 diabetes need a cure. I will not stop shouting until a cure is found. No matter how raw my throat is or how hoarse I get I will continue to shout.

My son deserves a cure. The millions of people affected by Type 1 diabetes deserve a cure. I refuse to shut up until one is found.