Our long story shortened...

20 years of being in love

14 years of marital bliss

5 years of infertility

9 months of a high risk pregnancy

2 perfect boys (at the same time)

1 heart failure

1 type 1 diabetes diagnosis

1 happy life

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I am a stay at home mom who is raising twins. One of my guys has type 1 diabetes and one does not. I am writing this blog to unite type 1 parents or twin parents. Comment on my posts or in the "what's your high?" and "what's your low?" to join the community of parents just trying to do the best we can!

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11/13/12

National Diabetes Awareness Day 14




Happy World Diabetes Day! 

Please, take a moment to share with the world. 

Tell us about your life with diabetes or your child's life with it! 

These little guys go through so much, please honor them by sharing their story here! 

Thanks for spreading the love! 

I am looking forward to hearing about you guys! 

To leave your story click the word "comment". 

To read all of the stories, also click the word "comment". 



12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for getting information about diabetes out there. I am an aunt who loves her nephew to death but was not feeling secure enough in my (lack of) knowledge to just be the two of us. Since reading your blog I am proud to say that I actually feel like I now know a few things about diabetes (at least enough to get me through a couple of hours). I can't wait to spend more time with him!!! Thank you so much for giving me that courage!!! Keep the stories (information) coming!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for getting information about diabetes out there. I am an aunt who loves her nephew to death but was not feeling secure enough in my (lack of) knowledge to just be the two of us. Since reading your blog I am proud to say that I actually feel like I now know a few things about diabetes (at least enough to get me through a couple of hours). I can't wait to spend more time with him!!! Thank you so much for giving me that courage!!! Keep the stories (information) coming!

Robyn said...

My son was diagnosed at the age of 4. We were very lucky in that since his dad, grandfather, great-grandfather, and a great-great aunt had the disease, we knew the sypmtoms as soon as they came into play. Yes, even with knowing the signs and being a little ahead of the game, it was still a terrible day that I will never forget. After the shock, the depression, and the realization that this was our new way of life for him, my husband and I put our best foot out there and moved forward. Now that the dust has settled and almost 5 years have passed since, I can say that Diabetes has brought the 3 of us even closer together. Yes, I do most of the care for my son's diabetes, but we still work together as a unit, managing and helping him with the disease.

My husband has had the disease since he was 12. For him, it was his disease and I never really grasped a full understanding of what life was like for a Diabetic. Now that I am more involved, I get it and that couldn't be more important for our marriage. Having patience, understanding and most of all respect for what he and my son go through is the key to our life together. This is what works for us.

Anonymous said...

First and foremost thanks for putting your life into words for the rest of us to read! It is such a joy to read about your family! I do not have children with diabetes but my daughter has a friend and a couple kids in school that do. Reading your blog definatley helps me explain things to her when she has questions! Keep writing. As long as you do, I will keep reading!!

Anonymous said...

I love that today is National Diabetes Day and next week is Thanksgiving, when I think of the journey my family, especially my daughter has been on for the last five years, my first thoughts would not be to give thanks for all the life changing moments that come with having a child that has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D). I mean really, am I thankful for this unpredictable and incurable disease and everything my daughter has had to learn and survive since she was diagnosed five years ago? My immediate response would be…no way! But, in this moment and reflecting on what our life is like today because of this disease, I have decided that I am grateful…I am grateful for being able to witness courage and compassion in the truest forms from my amazing daughter. I truly believe she has been given a gift, a gift of leadership and to show people that being different is what makes all of us special. She is a blessing to our family. I never want people to feel sorry for her. I want them to admire her like I do. I am grateful for my mom. My biggest support of all, she has been the one that has held the ship together, I think without her keeping me going, we would have sank a long time ago. You never know what you are going to get in that moment you enter motherhood, but some people have so much strength and wisdom that no matter what challenges get thrown their way, their resolve and determination will not allow you to fail, they just give you the opportunity to try your very best. I only hope that I can be the same rock for my daughter as she have been for me.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your blog! I has provided my family so much education. While I am blessed to have three healthy children, your blog helps us learn the importance of understanding diabetes and what we can do to help. I was at Rite Aid last night and the cashier asked if I would like to donate a dollar to diabetes research. Last year I probably would have thought, no, this disease doesn't affect me. But last night, I thought about your little guy and donated a dollar. It's not much... but if everyone reading your blog contributes, what a difference we can all make.

Thanks for helping us to understand that diabetes is a horrible disease, but it doesn't define your little guy!

Anonymous said...

Every morning I wake up to see what wonderful posts you have created! I am a Mother of two wonderful little girls and fortunately for me both of them are very healthy! I do however have a very close friend who does have a son with diabetes. I read your blog and it puts me in touch with what she is feeling! Never a day goes by that I do not think of her and her family! She is an inspiration to me in so many ways! Thank you again for your wonderful words! Day in and day out you surprise me!

Anonymous said...

Thank your so much for sharing your family with us! I love reading the posts, both dealing with diabetes and just the regular parts of your life! I just wanted to let you know the impact the eduction your blog provides is having. Diabetes does not affect my life directly. It affects us indirectly as my son has a few friends with the disease. Your blog has taught us that the disease does not define these kids and how to treat them and react so that they feel good and can play safely.

I was at Rite Aid last night and the clerk asked if I wanted to donate a dollar to diabetes reaseach! Way to go Rite Aid. Last you I wouldn't have done it. Last night I did. It's only a dollar... but just think if everyone reading this blog donated a dollar.

Keep educating us!!!

Stephanie said...

My 16 month old son and I are twelve days into this new T1D journey. I wrote a post today on my blog about why I'm not angry about the situation. You can check it out at www.themetzfamilyadventures.blogspot.com if you'd like. Love your blog. Keep up the great posts!

Katherine said...

Thank you so much for writing Everyday Highs and Lows. I look forward to a new post, DAILY. I have a close friend who's son was dx around the same age Rocco was. She is my best friend, even though I know EVERYTHING about her and her kids, your blog gives me insight into their life that I might that I might otherwise not notice.

Anonymous said...

I look forward to reading your posts everyday. Each one gives me a new insight into the "normal" life that my granddaughter and her family endure. She was diagnosed a few months ago at age 6 and life has been a series of up and downs for us all as she struggles with her everyday highs and lows. But reading your stories have helped us understand that this is a normal life, that we are doing a good job, and that she/we are not alone. Starting school this year was especially difficult but your experiences and suggestions helped lead us on an easier path and she is doing very well with ALL her numbers--blood sugars and math :)
Thanks for sharing your life with others.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
My name is Tami. I am a mother of two children, a wife, and a grandmother. My son has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed when he was 10. His doctor diagnosed him with strep throat. Fortunately for all of us I did not agree and had them check him for diabetes. They didn't have a meter in the office so we received the call the next day and unfortunately we found ourselves in an emergency situation. Maybe it was fortunate though, because we were terrified, given we weren't sure that he would make it through the night; so the long short of it is that he did and diabetes didn't seem so bad in comparison to losing him.

The challenges with getting him accommodated in school were exorbitant. It, again, was a blessing in disguise; because I was able to teach myself disability law, get my son accommodated at school, and passed the information onto others, who in turn passed it along to those in need. Now there is a network of people paying it forward, offering others peace of mind.

Fast forwarding to today, my son is 18 years old and a senior in high school. He drives, works at McDonald's, plays guitar, plays soccer, plays video games, does very well in school, and is in the process of deciding on which college to attend. He is a very happy, healthy young man, and I could not be more pleased.

I left my job approximately nine months after diagnosis because summer was coming and we didn't have anyone to help him manage his diabetes. I went back to college and became a nurse as a result and am currently looking for an opportunity to become a CDE. As it stands I work on an LTAC unit. Diabetes seems easy most of the time compared to my patients on ventilators; another blessing in disguise.

My message to you is that diabetes is tough, it’s scary, but it’s doable. The greatest piece of advice that our CDE gave to me was, “Have an emergency plan in place everywhere, type it, print it, have it available, so that when and if something goes very wrong, everyone knows what to do. Then, live!” There were a lot of firsts, we followed the aforementioned advice, said our prayers as they came along, and went with it.

Fear? There are many fears. It’s essential to trust the plans that you have put into place, and to have a plan B if they don’t work out entirely. I spent the first couple of years on the worry boat. What I found out was that it would be alright because our system worked for our family. Now, I trust it and don’t have to talk myself down off of the ledge as often.
It’s not a perfect science. Numbers are just numbers that turn into data; they are not a catastrophe unless you don’t fix them. Utilize the data and work with your healthcare professional to make adjustments. Keep your sense of humor, you will need it. Live life, don’t let your fear guide you, make a plan, trust the plan, and remember that those who are not exposed to type 1 diabetes won’t understand, and so you need to let them off the hook or it will eat you up inside. Grace is a good thing. People will be granting it to you quite frequently given you will be sleep deprived. Utilize your local support groups, they can relate! Raising a happy child who has type 1 diabetes is as much art as it is science. Seek those who are successful doing so and learn from them.

Thanks for reading!

Happy World Diabetes Day!