Tag: t1d mom

type 1 parents

To All The Type 1 Parents Out There

To All The Type 1 Parents Out There

By: Kathryn Julian


I’m a teacher, mother, wife, and daughter. I am also a type 1 diabetic.

For the nearly 30 years I have navigated this disease. I have memories of mixing clear and cloudy, blood drops the size of Antarctica, the fist insulin pump trials, and of course the constant doctors appointments reminding me of all the horrors this disease can cause if gone uncontrolled. Through it all, I had the unwavering support of my two greatest advocates, my parents.

My mom and dad had no idea what this disease was when their baby girl was diagnosed. They always provided me with the best care, the best doctors, the best equipment they could.

When something new came out that could make my life a little easier my dad worked a little harder to get it for me. My mom measured my carbohydrates for every meal and always made sure I had extra snacks.

I remember in 7th grade my dad stayed the night in a hotel near the campground where my 7th grade field trip was just in case I needed him. Just in case something went wrong. But, they let me go….

I remember when I left for college and the excitement that I felt. I couldn’t wait to go. Many years later, I learned the fear my parents had. They weren’t sure if I would be alright. They worried everyday. But they let me go…

I remember when I wanted to move to the big city, work in an inner city school, and get my own apartment without roommates. My parents never discouraged me, never told me the fears they had of me living alone. They let me go….

When I was 24 I wanted to travel the world during summer break. My parents helped gather glucose tablets, extra pump supplies, syringes, and test strips. They were beyond terrified their daughter was traveling to third world countries. They never told me their fears. They let me go…

At 26, when I met an amazing man, he asked me to marry him. My life would now be shared with someone else, and for the first 26 years my parents worried day in and day out about me being alone, I now had someone at my side. The fears they had were still there but the burden was lifted a bit….

That following year my husband and I found out we were pregnant. It was a healthy pregnancy, my daughter was born perfect, without complications. I never knew the burden my mother felt. The fear she had…

A few years later my mom told me how scared she was through the whole pregnancy. She, told me how much she worried. I never knew.

Right after she told me her fears, I told her I was pregnant again. My poor mother smiled through the whole pregnancy, hiding her fears from me. But now, at 33, I knew she was scared. She wasn’t fooling me anymore. But, she never told me. She supported and encouraged me the same way she had my entire life. My second daughter was born this past May. She too, like my first, is perfect.

My mom and dad taught me never to let this disease stop me from doing anything. They provided me with the support, encouragement, love, and strength to endure some very dark days. They have always been there for me.

Now, a mother of two daughters myself, I can’t imagine the fears they had while I grew up. I was three years younger than my oldest daughter when I was diagnosed.

I have thought often about the strength my mom and dad had in raising me before the technology was readily available. How they let me live my life. They taught me that diabetes was just a part of me like the color of my eyes.

I can never thank them enough for the life they have given me. But, I can continue to live my life the way they want me to.

So, to all the type 1 parents out there, who have raised their children to be fearless, strong, and determined. It is because of you this disease won’t stop us. There aren’t words to thank you enough.


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If I Am Completely Honest -

If I Am Completely Honest -

By: Heather Lyons

Blog: Coffee & Jesus


Type one diabetes (T1D) does not control my family. We control it. Family, friends, doctors, and teachers control it. Jett controls it. Everyday. We fight it. We endure it. We cry about it. We build strength from it. We grow. We learn.

It has molded Jett and I and made us different people. Health, fitness, and faith is my world now. I am more thankful because of it. I realize each day is so precious and yet another amazing gift from God. I am thankful for T1D. And, I hate it! It’s inexplainable. I want to take it away from Jett but then, again, I know he is dominating it and life because of the strength he has built from it.

If I'm completely honest - t1d
I try not to talk about it that much or even write about it. But, please know, that it is a big part of our life and Jett and I are who we are today because of it. I wouldn’t change that. I know that our God knows best.

I try not to talk about it or write about it because:

If I am completely honest, sometimes I feel a little bitter and angry because of it. But, not for the reasons that you would think. I feel angry because I feel like people do not understand it. They don’t understand that the same medicine, insulin, which keeps Jett alive could also kill him. They don’t understand that there are long term side effects.

They don’t understand that Jett has mood swings because of it and feels like he has the flu when his sugar is high. I feel like people think I make excuses for Jett. The truth is, Jett is fighting an incurable disease that would break most people and he is doing an incredible job. My Jett-Man is a super-hero!

If I am completely honest, sometimes I feel guilty. I feel guilty that it is a lot of work for family members and teachers. He requires so much more attention than most kids. But, he is worth it! I am so thankful for family and friends that ease my anxiety and help take such great care of him. Jett and I are blessed with the best.

I never expected this horrible, life-threatening but yet life-strengthening disease to hit my family. Especially, my precious little, at the time, 6 year old boy that was going to accomplish big things and had his entire life in front of him.

Guess what? Things happen that totally rock our worlds. And, Jett is still going to accomplish more incredible things than I could have ever imagined and he has his entire life ahead of him to inspire people and do amazing things.

I am a firm believer that life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% how we react.

One of my favorite bible verses, that my sweet sister Beth shared with me, is:

John 9: 1-3, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

God will surely use my Jett-Man!

Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.


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What I’ve Learned From My Child Who Battles Type 1 Diabetes

By: Kirsten White


I learned how to be brave.
I learned how to stay strong.
I learned how to stare fear in the face with a giggle and a smile.
I learned what life is all about.
I learned what a hero really is.
I learned what a fighter does.
I learned what courage feels like.
I learned what unstoppable means.

I am the mother, I am supposed to teach my son these things.

But this T1D life has brought a new perspective. The long sleepless nights. The math skills I never knew I possessed. The gut wrenching fear of highs and lows, pertaining to both blood glucose readings and the events of the day.

The planning. The prescriptions. The doctors appointments. The technology. The sticks and pokes, and new things to carry on his body. He has faced them all with a smile.

Even on our three day stay in the hospital at diagnosis, he was running and playing with a smile, and singing, his favorite country stars songs, Jamey Johnson to everyone. He was the talk of the hospital wing.

He shows off his gear with pride now everywhere we go. He gets excited to see kids wearing gear like his at all the events we attend to raise money and awareness. He hasn’t let a thing stop him. He even shows off his Tae Kwon Do skills wearing his gear to win his first trophy.

I want him to always have such a bright and happy outlook on life. To grow and learn about his disease and to educate others. I pray nothing in this life will ever put a damper on those big blue eyes, and those dimples.

Yes, my three year old has been the tough one, the strong one, the brave one.

He has taught my family how life should be faced no matter what is thrown at you. He is my hero, better than Batman. For the rest of my life I will fight along side him until there is a cure! 



 

proud mother with type 1 diabetes

I’m Proud to be a Mother with Type 1

I’m Proud to be a Mother with Type 1

Jill Brown


30 years ago

I was a typical, active 9 year old girl. One day my freedom was stripped away from me when I received a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. My mother embraced this disease and taught me how to accept and conquer the challenges. She promised me that if I took good care of my body I would be able to have children someday.

In 2009

I gave birth to my first child. After a complicated pregnancy and delivery I had a little boy. Adjusting to motherhood is a huge task. Adjusting to motherhood and managing Type 1 is too great to measure.

There is a constant voice in your head asking what is my blood sugar? Did I eat enough? Did I eat too much? Is my blood at a safe number for sleeping? Why am I not producing milk? How am I going to lose the baby weight? All of this while taking care of my baby and going back to work.

In 2010

I gave birth to my second child, a little girl. Having 2 children under 2 is a task of its own but again, add in diabetes to the mix.

Fast forward to 2017

I have 2 healthy children ages 6 and 7. I have taught them the facts about diabetes and they are very involved in my care. They know about insulin, site changes, blood sugars, carbohydrates, lows, highs and the frustration and sadness that I occasionally let out to others.

I’m a very devoted mother, my children are my whole world. I know that in order to be the best mother I can be, I need to take care of myself. Sometimes I can’t share my snack, or we have to wait 15 minutes before taking a walk because I need to eat.

Being a mother with Type 1 diabetes has taught me:

patience, acceptance, multi-tasking, gratitude and a huge appreciation for life. I don’t take my health for granted. I work hard at exercising and eating well to support my body.

Having Type 1 has lead me down a career path that I adore. I am a Certified Personal Trainer and a Holistic Nutritionist. I get to spend every day helping people help themselves and learning about the needs of their own bodies.

I wish I didn’t have diabetes. I struggle with pretty severe anxiety as a result of this full time disease. However, I have never let it stop me. I’m very active in my community, I coach my daughters baseball team, I spend my summers on the beaches of Cape Cod where I live and I try to educate people as best I can about the facts of Type 1 Diabetes.

I’m proud to be a mother with Type 1 diabetes.



 

We Are Not Letting Diabetes Win Anymore

We Are Not Letting Diabetes Win Anymore

We Are Not Letting Diabetes Win Anymore

By: Jodi Otis

10 years ago our lives were forever changed when my then 6-year-old son, Bailey, was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic. I will never forget the day his beautiful brown eyes looked at me as he uttered the words….”Mom, am I going to die?

I swear my heart stopped for that moment in time. I saw his life flash before me in just a matter of seconds. The tears softly rolled down my cheeks as I promised him he was going to be OK, that no matter what, he was going to feel better soon.

Before we knew it we were off to Children’s Hospital where his blood sugar was almost 800 and he had large ketones but was not in DKA. We spent the night and as many T1D parents do—you admire them as they sleep. As I sat in the darkness and silence the tears fell like rain.

And I prayed—I prayed for him to find peace and the strength to handle this. He was six, 6. He should be worrying about if he was going to jump in mud puddles or ride his bike not what his blood sugar is. I knew we had a long road ahead of us.

The next two days we had training so we could take our child home with us and be experts in diabetes. I should have known he would have had the most amazing courage, he took the poker and meter from the nurse and tested his sugar all by himself. He really has no fear of anything!

4 years later, when he was just 10, his 14-year-old sister, Bree, wasn’t feeling well and he could see the telltale signs and he told her to take his meter and check her sugar and if my heart did not stop again….her blood sugar was almost 300.

I couldn’t help but feel anger—not towards her but for her. Anger that she will have to struggle for the rest of her life after seeing him go into DKA twice and be hospitalized. After seeing him have high blood sugars and low blood sugars and feel awful. After seeing him get sick with the slightest cold or virus sometimes. Seeing him have to adjust….EVERY…SINGLE… THING…HE…DOES….TO ….SURVIVE.

I knew she would have a hard time, she is such a picky eater and not a good sleeper, meaning she can sleep for 12 hours at a time, crazy teenagers! She went through a period of depression and I felt her slipping through my fingers and she used her diabetes as a weapon.

I was heartbroken and angry for so long, I felt like diabetes had won, it had taken over my family and my life. Until we decided that we are not just surviving anymore. We are not going to let diabetes win anymore. She had to find the courage to come out on the other side of depression, not an easy thing to do.

Bree has an amazing spirit. Her smile lights up the world. Bailey has the strength of a million men. His courage is far beyond words. Both Bree and Bailey have raced Motocross for several years. It is mentally and physically demanding. Diabetes could have robbed them from a sport they love but they never gave in or gave up. They are my heroes, they are my true warriors. We choose how we live each day, you, me, we choose. Not the disease.

Every day that we fight, we win.


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mom with type 1 diabetes

What Life is Like Being a Mom With Type 1 Diabetes

What Life is Like Being a Mom With Type 1 Diabetes


Just like diabetes—motherhood is a lot of work.

Both are full-time jobs.

Not one is more important than the other.

For me— being a mom with Type 1 Diabetes, they both go hand in hand.

I get asked often ‘how do you manage?’ The kids—they mean.

Of course, that’s only half of the equation in my life.

Not many people realize the other half.

The half that I have to continuously battle every day.

Nobody understands how complex and intertwined diabetes is in every aspect of my life.

It’s certainly made me the strong mother that I am today.

But it’s also made me unlike other mothers as well.

diabetes and the unexpected - diabetes blog week

I’m the mother who pricks her finger several times a day, and those numbers determining whether it’s safe to attend to my children.

The one who packs for an army to leave the house for a quick errand—but never being fully prepared enough.

The mother who has to take breaks constantly and has to eat the snack that my child wants desperately. Knowing that sometimes I have to come first.

The one who has to go to as many doctor appointments—if not more than my children.

I’m the mother who wants to vent to an open ear but doesn’t think they would understand.

The mother trying to lose weight, only to have a difficult time due to having to treat lows.

I’m one who carries guilt, wanting to be the best mother and not wanting diabetes to inhibit that in any way.

Having to steal a part of my children’s innocence by teaching them about this disease that I wish I could keep from them.

I’m the mother who worries about going to sleep at night—having the fear of not waking up in the morning.

Waking up some days feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck and just continuing to push through.

The mother who is constantly attached to devices, and always setting off alarms.

The one with erratic mood swings, an inconsistent schedule, and a low blood sugar peaking around the corner.

I’m the mother who carries around the weight of this disease on her shoulders every day.

Trying to care for others while having to care for myself first.

The one who worries every minute of every day—wondering if I’m doing this right.

I’m the mother who is concerned about the short term implications of this disease and having to accept the long-term effects that correlate.

The mother who works so hard every day at this disease so that I can see my grandchildren one day.

I may have diabetes—but diabetes DOESN’T have me. Diabetes has given me the strength to fight. But being a mother has given me the reason to fight. 

Being a mom with Type 1 Diabetes — my life may not be ordinary, easy, or simple.

I may have my bad days, my setbacks, and my doubts.

But I go on despite them.