“Every Time I Hear the Music, I Just Have to Dance.” A Wonderful CWD Lesson for ALL of Us.

A Ceilidh, by definition, is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing and was started in Ireland and Scotland. It was probably made famous in the movie Titanic when Jack takes Rose to ‘his’ party in the deck below. It was the better party.

CWD had their version last night and our hosts in Scotland surely knew what they were doing making sure their American colleagues, in this diabetes battle, wore their kilts to perfection. The kids were dancing and so were the adults. What is the phrase? Ahhhhh yes, a good time was had by all.

My kids are both on an Animas pump, which is my fair disclosure. I ‘m not paid by Animas and I have met many people at Animas who, well, I just like. At the Children with Diabetes conference I met a person from Animas who mentioned a phrase to me that grabbed right at my soul. Aileen Durkan catches your attention as soon as you meet her. She has a warm smile and she connects with everyone who crosses her path, especially children.

She is the Ireland Regional Manager for Life Scan and Animas (hence my fair disclosure). She has a brother with Type 1 and she, like all of us, is driven to help this cause. I was one of the million people she got up on the dance floor. Now if you remember Titanic, this dancing is not for the weak-of-heart. It is fast, quick-stepped, and downright tiring. Now I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this women did not sit once all night. How she had the stamina is beyond my knowledge and comprehension. She was magnificent. When speaking with her she said, ‘Every time I hear the music, just have to dance.”

Every time I hear the music, I just have to dance.

What a fabulous phrase. Her colleagues informed me that Ms Durkan has that same music in her heart in everything she does and it is the children that receive that energy with her philosophy that every child deserves the best possible chance in life.

Ms. Durkan’s very existence is a lesson from which we all have much to take away. There is much to do in the diabetes world we live. We all look for the way to get things done and certainly life has thrown many obstacles in our way.

It is what we do with life’s challenges, how we handle them, that define who we are. We are given a choice on how we go about our daily battles with diabetes; to just do it, do it grudgingly, do it with anger, do it with rage, or to do it with music in your heart.

The goal is for a better life for our kids until a cure is found; and that is music to my ears and I’ll take a slice of that advice from Ms. Durkan……..I just have to dance.

I am a diabetes dad

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