Registration is open here in Florida. I have often discussed CWD’s Friends for Life…..I have been a faculty member there since its inception; it’s an honor I cherish. They have an annual conference each year in July in Orlando and thousands attend. They run local weekend conferences as well. There are scholarships available for families who could use it. It’s not a ‘charity’ thing as there are costs associated with it and there is help available if one could use it……almost all could use it at some time or another. I am absolutely confident in saying what we have learned here over the years has impacted our decisions GREATLY for the better.
We have also been involved with camps. I also believe fully in DECA’s (Diabetes Education Camping Association) mission and local camps as well. Clara Barton had Kaitlyn involved for years. There, too, have been daily education and interactions that I would not have traded for the world. Immeasurable on what can be learned from the expert faculty who share their knowledge and the fact of KNOWING one is not alone in this battle.
I encourage you, as parents, to do all you can to participate in an education program that involves your kids. When kids spend time with other kids, going through what they are going through, it will be easier than going it alone.
I have stated a thousand times that no one has to do what we do. You do not have to be at CWD or at camps but you really should do what you can to supply good education and peer-to-peer interaction. For those who cannot afford it, there are scholarships usually available. The education of our kids is paramount for our kids to have a level playing field in the uneven-ness diabetes throws at them.
I can only speak from what I know. So I ask you to supply information what you do for your kids. This column has always been an open forum. Why you do not attend something is your call BUT WHAT I AM interested in doing is making sure that everyone knows what options are available to them.
So please share what you do for your child? Being involved is not a kids game, some of my closest friends have come from meeting other parents who believe that kids need to be kids; and after diagnosis, the best way to get there is knowledge; the diabetes equalizer.
I am a diabetes dad.
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