Tag: diabetes education

Do Not Let THIS SHIP Sail Without YOU!!!!!!! What Are You Waiting For????

Posted on | by tomkarlya | 1 Comment on Do Not Let THIS SHIP Sail Without YOU!!!!!!! What Are You Waiting For????

sailing shipThere is no one more believing that a cure is out there more than I.  I spend my days in support of a place that I believe will get us to the finale of diabetes; and I believe it with all my heart.  I know many out there are working toward a cure and if you have a place that you believe in, that’s fabulous.

Now as much as I believe in the DRI and for a whole list of reasons; my discussion today is not actually going to be about a cure.

If you, your family, and your child, are waiting for a  cure to get started in life, a ship of life is going to sail without you. 

You need to start now.   Educate yourself.

Education is not speaking to someone and they tell you something and you say, ‘Oh, that sounds good.’  Education is looking wherever you need to find out facts on the subject you are searching.

Ask a lot of questions but if you want your child to start living and start living now, spend the time to KNOW FACTS how to manage this monster.  The people I know who live life to the fullest is because this runaway horse called diabetes CAN ONLY be reigned in with education and education can only be found by searching.

I remember when Kaitlyn was very young, and I have lectured this point many times, I would come home at 1-2 in the morning from work and Jill had fallen asleep with literature all around her.  While I worked 3 jobs, she took care of 3 kids.  This we agreed would be how we would raise our kids and LIVE with diabetes.

Any spare moment, we would both seek knowledge, share what we had found, and that has not changed to this day.  People ask how we can be so positive with two kids living with diabetes.

We get it.  We’re there too.  Anguish, sleepless nights, frustration, and anything else that comes along this journey.  But in the end education teaches-away the fear, education allows us the comfort of understanding, and education trumps hear-say.

So while we all await a cure, and whether you chose to believe we are close or far away is your choice, there is something THAT YOU CAN DO IN THE NOW to better live a full life.  Educate yourself and your child…..it is the tool to set your compass.  Go beyond chatting in the DOC which is fine, but find out for yourself.  Investigate.  Learn.

Even a little-bit-a-day is better than none-a-day.  Pick a subject: pumps, complications, 504 plans, depression, or whatever interests you….a little a day over a month would supply you with a pretty good foundation of 12 subject matters in just the first year.

Cure? absolutely, but sail the ship of living now….educate yourself.

I am a diabetes dad.

Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.

When You Need Help…..Who Helps You?

Posted on | by tomkarlya | 4 Comments on When You Need Help…..Who Helps You?

pulling-out-hairAs I read various posts, I rarely see or hear about what a spouse/partner does in the management of a child’s diabetes. 

Let’s face it, sometimes you want to pull your hair out trying to find help but who DOES help you when you need it?

I write often and at her request, I mention Jill rarely in my writings, but let there be no mistake about it; my kids are alive today because of the amount of work their mother puts into this world of diabetes.

Back when Kaitlyn was first diagnosed and we discussed and decided that I would be the one to work and Jill would leave her job to care for Kaitlyn; we had a great foundation for which to move forward. 

We discussed and agreed.

I did not know it at the time but the fact that we discussed, and it was not just ‘assumed’ who-would-do-what, began a healthy foundation for much of the care for our kids.  Now I’m not saying there were not challenges, any marriage has challenges, but when it came to the care of our kids we learned that discussions needed to be crucial for us to understand our roles and also the role of diabetes in our new normal.

There was a mutual respect for the fact that I knew Jill had it no easier than I, and in fact, probably tougher.  It takes a lot to jab your child a million times and watch every step they take at home, at school, and in life.  No one I know is better at this, than Jill.  When I could, I would take the kids and try to get her some space, but her efforts were herculean since day one.

It was difficult to work 16 hour days seven days a week for as long as I did but somehow we made it work.  On many occasions I would come home and find that Jill fell asleep with all sorts of diabetes information all around her.  It was never enough to ‘just do’, it was always about educating ourselves on what was new.

As many of you know, there is a look that glazes over our kids when a hypo/hyper creeps into their active lives; Jill could, and still can, spot it a mile away.  She still reads up on what is new and what is coming and shares that with Kaitlyn (and now Rob also).

I have always stated that I have it easy compared to all that she has done and continues to do.  I know that many ‘go it alone’ and you have tremendous respect from those who know what you are up against.  Hopefully everyone has at least one person to help even if a spouse/partner is no longer present.   Who do you turn to when you need a break or  to those who have help, kindly share how you ‘divide up’ the day-to-day management of diabetes in your household.

I am a diabetes dad.

Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’