I have often found myself reflecting back to the days when Kaitlyn was very, very young and we began this journey. Do you ever reflect back?
If you are fairly new at this ‘diabetes thing’, it may seem like such a long haul ahead of you but let me share that you should look back constantly on how far you have come because you will proceed very quickly……..because you must. I often hear parents say how much of a failure they feel at ‘doing this diabetes thing’.
No one woke up one day and said, “Okay, not only do I want to be an Olympic Runner, but I will run a race today.” Absurd, right?
But on one day life was normal and the next, BANG….Olympic Marathon…….now GO! You were not trained for this; you did not plan this; you could never be ready for a life after diagnosis. And yet, here you are.
So before you beat yourself up, remember how far you have come since…..well….just yesterday. Or since last week. Or since last year. At that time, the time your child was diagnosed, you KNEW NOTHING about diabetes. And in a short time you have become an expert on so many things.
Remember this about experts, there is not a medical professional alive that does not need to do something every year to gain continuing education credits to keep their license renewed for their practice. So every year medical professionals attend lectures, meetings, and conferences continuing their knowledge base in a field that they spent years to learn……and yet each year or two, they need to do more.
There is no continuing education credit when you have a child……it’s called being a parent. It is a process we must work out continually. And having a child diagnosed with diabetes…..the education never stops, nor should it. So do not be so hard on yourself. Remember that you are involved in something that you would never have signed up for, you had no choice and neither did your child.
Remember when you thought, I could never prick their finger to check their blood…..that could hurt them? You have come a long way baby…….hang in there. You know more than you think you do! Your child is lucky to have you.
I am a diabetes dad.
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