Tag: diabetes dparent

A few people I know attempted to do something this weekend that, I guess, one could say that they had no business to attempt.  Both had to do with feats of running.  Both have ailments or other reasons why their bodies are not meant to run.  I have no idea how long, or even if, they trained for these runs.

My cousin trained for months to run in the NY Marathon last November in New York City.  My cousin’s training was being done at age 77.  He did it all under medical supervision and he ‘did it right’ from all intent and purposes one undertakes these endeavors.  Just prior to the race, while training, he collapsed in the street and a passerby performed CPR, it saved his life.  It’s been a haul but my cousin is a fighter and the closeness he has to his own family, well that makes the fighting worth it.

He was running to bring attention, education, and a few bucks to Autism which has hit out family, and hit it pretty hard.  The other two I referenced at the onset were doing it for diabetes awareness, education, and a few bucks to a foundation in which they believe in for diabetes, our family knows about that as well..

THEY ARE ALL, HEROES.

They chose to live by the phrase, Just Don’t Do Nothing.  Make no mistake about it, just because they may not have made it to break the ribbon at the end, they accomplished their goals.  In fact, in one case, her story was so moving I donated to her cause.  Had she not been challenged beyond physical  endurance; I never would have known her story.  Her story pulled at my heart. Her apologetic tone of being unable to make it to the finish line captivated my attention.  As I read her story my mind was continually filled with one of the greatest lines ever uttered in movie cinema history from Lord of the Rings, “…….my friends, you bow to no one!”

Anyone who decides in their head, I will attempt this, crazy as it sounds, they get my attention and they should get your attention as well.  Someone else has REALLY peaked my attention recently because she is attempting to do something almost as impossible as well.  She is running a different kind of race and in my humble opinion, we probably should pay attention.

Quinn Nystrom is running for Congress in Minnesota.  She is an author (If I Kiss you, will I Get Diabetes), a tireless advocate for diabetes, and a person who has lived with the disease.  Quinn has held elected office as the youngest person ever elected to the Baxter City Council.  One of the reasons she is running for Congress is because of unaffordable health care, she knows firsthand about the cost of insulin.  So many times we tout and shout, “If only we had an inside to Washington.”  Well now is your chance.  I’m doing what I can to help Quinn get elected, because I cannot vote for her.  But I also KNOW WE NEED A VOICE in Washington DC; Quinn’s voice.  Go to https://quinnforcongress.com/ and figure a way you can help also.

All of these individuals, although running in completely different races, are running because they cared enough not to sit on the sidelines.  I’m in awe of their efforts and I know there are so many more trying to make a difference.  But the only way to get in the race, is to start running.  What will you do this year?
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.

Life was normal. Perhaps a trip shopping or a relatives house. Your child starts to complain about stomach aches, nausea, but the flu has been going around.
It’s just the flu honey.
Yeah, the flu I’m sure.
But the clock is ticking.

Your child is home from school.
This is different, honey. I should take her to the doctor’s office.
Tomorrow, we’ll see tomorrow.
But the clock is ticking.

If you have a child with T1D, the first two paragraphs should have caused a little anxiety. Perhaps you are brand new. Perhaps you have been ‘at it’ for years.
It’s diabetes. It’s the way it is. It’s the way it’s going to be until someone untangles this mess and comes up with a cure.

Stop blaming the pharma companies for ‘hiding a cure’, they’re not. If we have learned anything it is that if one entity is ‘doing it’, others also know how. So ‘hiding it????–not so easy. Diabetes is just that complex. But many are working on it. Many. Technology of today is so much better than the technology of yesterday, and tomorrow’s will be THAT MUCH better. We’ll get there. I’m more sure of that now, than when we started this journey on September 26th, 1992

So buckle your seat belt and keep the focus where it needs to be. On your child? Not necessarily just on your child but on getting your child back up and back as close to life as it was before diagnosis. That’s our job, as parents. If you are divorced, hear me, that is still our job as parents. Nothing matters more.

The psyche of diabetes is as important as the management of it. Get your child back up and back into life. Be strong, but understanding. Let them lean but don’t let them sit. Get them back to where they were. That’s our job as parents. Cry? Sure but not in front of them. If they want to cry, let them. Guide them.

I have known thousands of families where diabetes entered the household. The kids have done incredible things to fulfill their dreams. There are always ‘what about—what about’, that ‘might happen’ but only take them on when you have to. Otherwise, let them do what other kids do……after all, that’s what they are……..kids. Upon diagnosis, they did not turn into glass, don’t treat them as if they have. Hear me clearly, do not just poo-poo this disease, it’s a monster. But all monsters can be trained. Train it, or it will own you. Don’t let it. I’m certainly no smarter, better, nor stronger than you. I asked the questions of those who have been through it. I found answers.

My oldest son is living his dream. Not your dream. Not someone else’s dream, His dream. He runs into fires when others run away. He works patrolling the grounds of NY State. He works hard, he plays hard. He gives back. He is where he wants to be. My youngest two children each have type one diabetes, and you know what, they’re living their dreams as well. They all have someone in their lives to share everything. They are all living life.

That’s the goal. It takes work. But as I said, I’m no smarter than anyone else but we made sure our kids had choices. They made good ones. Let yours do the same. Don’t let one ounce of your precious energy be wasted in any other way. Period.
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.