Summer Fun Plus Diabetes Equals…..Anxiety…..Right?

Camps.  Rafting trips.  Summer competitions.  Day trips away.  Over night trips.  Trips over a few days.  When our kids with diabetes partake in these events it makes the anxiety level go through the roof…..right?

We want them to flourish and grow but at the same time we want to parent-helicopter them and hover over them through all of it just to make sure diabetes behaves.   But that is not always the case….is it?

The solace I can provide to you is that many of us have been there and the best way to get through it…………….is to……………………..well……………………get through it.  Doing.  Taking the leap.  I could also tell you that ‘back when’ there were no cell phones or the cloud or CGMs or the Dexcom Share or a whole list of other tools that now exist and guess what, we got through it.

And you can too.

We grew by doing.  Yes there were situations that needed dealing with but we got through it.  If Ryan Reed can top 200 miles in a race car while managing his diabetes, we can do THAT white water rafting trip. Imagine what Ryan’s mom goes through when she hears that Ryan is just going to ‘pop-on-over’ and do 200 laps at 200-plus miles per hour.  If you do all the preparation you can and you think of all the scenarios that can occur (and realize a few new ones are waiting) and you plan all you can……….well that is all you can do.

Rigid plans will break….one who is flexible and adds flexible into the planning will do better than those that do not allow extra time, extra supplies, and extra understanding.  Know that many have gone before you and dealt with whatever came along.  It’s what we do as parents to give our children every opportunity to live this wonderful life.

YOU can do this.  Plan that trip.  Go if you can. Have people who know what to do if you can’t.  It will work out.  Stay in touch.  But let them go, do not be paralyzed by so much fear that you keep your child back from being a kid.  Kids and summer……..they go together.  They did before diabetes entered your house and they should still go together after diagnosis.

Now go enjoy the summer………well try to anyway.

I am a diabetes dad.
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