I honestly do not remember me ever saying ‘why us’ when Kaitlyn was diagnosed. In fact I am sure that we did not say it when Rob was diagnosed either. It’s how you look at things, isn’t it?
“Life” comes at us all the time. It has a zillion-and-one things that are really cool that come and go many times without us even noticing. But when life throws ‘stuff’ at us, well we have a choice.
What is positive about diabetes? Short answer: Nothing. But if you firmly believe that nothing good can come out of this…….well you are wrong; but it will be your call.
I’m not a big fan of the phrase when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Not a big fan of a window closing and a door opening either. We have a few choices in life. We can just float by or we can try to make things happen when life is shoveling it on pretty hefty.
I have heard it said how crappy diabetes is and that there is NOTHING good about it. But I would challenge that statement and ask, “Okay, what did you do about it once it arrived?” In addition to learning and managing our children as they grew up there were other choices to make.
It is my belief (key word–MY) that if you choose to somehow get involved in something, it could change how bad you may be feeling. When I do not like something, I go after it full strength to figure out if I REALLY do not like something or do I not like what I perceive something to be. When I ‘hear/read’ something; I react the same way. I want to find out the truth, or it’s not acceptable to me.
It was unacceptable to me on September 26th, 1992 that we would be crushed under by a diagnosis of diabetes. And I have said it before that we were, at times, on the brink of losing so much. The dynamic of our family structure completely changed. I get some people annoyed sometimes when I say if you do not control diabetes, it will surely control you. But when I say that, it is with no reference to the management of blood sugars, it’s an attitude. It’s how one reacts. And I still firmly believe in that statement.
For us, the key answer was knowledge. With knowledge came actions. And with actions came the understanding that we CANNOT take on everything. When someone writes to me, “Tom, we should look into…..”; my feeling is always the same. “You’re right, we should…….go for it.” But we should also not take on nothing either; Just Don’t Do Nothing as I have said.
On this whole situation of missed diagnosis of T1 Diabetes; I state the following. Those articles written by many of us reached over 100,000 people. If you wrote how upset you were/are and how horrible you felt/feel about those families who lost their children, but did nothing to make sure it never happens again, even something as simple as printing a poster from GetDiabetesRight.org and hanging it in a visible spot in your community????—-if you DID NOTHING, you wasted your words. Did you DO anything? Words without actions are dead.
The good news is, you can still do something about it. But the choice is yours. And in as much as diabetes really ‘stinkos’, I can also share with you that the people I have met since we have been involved, I would be totally lost without. THEY DO NOT ‘stinko’; many of them are my lifeline and the fiber of my soul.
So in as much as there is nothing good about diabetes, there is plenty of good surrounding the actions one takes DEALING with diabetes. I highly recommend it. You will meet some pretty incredible people doing pretty incredible things………and you will learn a thing or two (or a million) along the way. Try it. Do something. What that is, is your call; but no one is coming to your door and knocking on it to ask. Go out and find it.
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.
2 replies on “There REALLY IS NOTHING good about diabetes………but……….”
I agree. We have also learned that we can go through hard things, and not completely fall apart.
I was diagnosed at age 7. I have three siblings, all younger. I don’t ever remember asking “Why me?” I remember feeling thankful that it was me, and not one of my three younger siblings. This is how I’ve always looked at it. Not as something terrible that has happened to me, but something that was just mine to deal with because maybe I was the most capable. It’s been 34 years since my diagnosis. I love my sisters and brother and I’m thankful everyday that they are healthy.