Category: Uncategorized

Someone please tell Barbara Walters of The View that having Type 1 diabetes does not make you an alcoholic. It is statements like this whereby this blog was born.

Of course any sane human being knows that having Type 1 diabetes does not make you an alcoholic, except if that human being is Barbara Walters. She had the nerve to ask Mary Tyler Moore, a woman with Type 1 diabetes for over 40 years, “Did having diabetes make you an alcoholic?” on Thursday morning’s The View.

Ridiculous use of words, or misuse of words, like this are the exact reason for this blog. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Barbara Walters was trying to ask Ms. Moore if having to deal with a chronic illness for over 1/2 of her life may have caused her to start using alcohol as a coping mechanism. Unfortunately, that is not what she said.

Had Ms. Walters chosen her words more wisely, maybe Ms. Moore could have had an intelligent conversation regarding Type 1 diabetes. Instead the interview was taken down to a level below mediocrity where Ms. Walters asked inane questions such as the above one regarding alcoholism.

Had Ms. Walters focused on how to live successfully with Type 1 diabetes then some people may have learned something. Instead she single-handedly created another myth about Type 1 diabetes that my son will have to debunk for the rest of his life.

Now the saddest part about all of this nonsense, is that someone who is undereducated about Type 1 diabetes now has more misinformation swimming around their head. Someone out there, one day in the future, is going to tell my son to be careful when he drinks a beer at his 21st birthday, because having Type 1 diabetes may make him prone to alcoholism.

I think Barbara Walters owes all of the people living with Type 1 diabetes an apology. She should be ashamed about how little she knew about Type 1 diabetes before the interview. She should be even more ashamed at how less people know after watching her poor excuse for an interview.

I will end here, because I think I’ve already written my point. Have a heart. Don’t talk about complications when talking to your children about my son’s diabetes. He doesn’t need to have these conversations yet. He is only five. Let’s keep some childhood innocence for him, okay?

Type 1 diabetes adds another dimension to regular occurences such as hunger, sleepiness, excitability and anger.

Picture this scenario that has happened hundreds of times. Young mother. Crying toddler. Mother quietly whispering to the very sad toddler trying to figure out what is making her baby so sad. Is he tired? Maybe she should rock him in the stroller. Is he hungry? Maybe he could use a bottle or a snack. Mother works through all the possibilities that could be making her baby so sad, she finally settles on that he is hungry and hands him a bottle. He settles down rather quickly. Young mother made the right choice.

Picture this scenario that doesn’t happen too often, but often enough to some of us. Young mother. Crying toddler. Mother quietly whispering to the very sad toddler trying to figure out what is making her baby so sad. Is he tired? Maybe she should rock him in the stroller. Is he hungry? Maybe he could use a bottle or a snack. Is his number high? Maybe the last dose of insulin was not correct. Is his number low? Maybe there is something causing his sugar to drop. Mother works through all the possbilities and drops to her knees. She digs in her bag for the glucose meter, strips and poker. Gently, but firmly, she takes her toddler’s finger and pricks it. She tests his blood to see if his general unhappiness could be caused by an unexplained high or low blood sugar. Number is in range. Great. But she still has an unhappy toddler that she has to figure out what is wrong.

Caregivers of children with Type 1 diabetes and people living with Type 1 diabetes do not have the luxury of leaving diabetes out when dealing with everyday, seemingly normal, occurences.

When our children appear tired we cannot just assume they need a nap. We need to quickly asses whether their sugar is too high or too low. So when other mother’s can just swoop their baby up in their arms and rock them gently to sleep, mother’s of kids with Type 1 diabetes are dropping to their knees and pricking their babies’ fingers to test their sugar. Adults living with Type 1 diabetes cannot just take a nap like some other adults. Their sugar must be checked as well, because they know the dangers of falling asleep when their sugar is too high or too low, it could mean the difference between a good night’s rest, seizure or coma.

Tired is no longer just tired.
Hungry is no longer just hungry.
Angry is no longer just angry.
Excited is no longer just excited.

Before Type 1 diabetes came into my life, I took for granted how life just appeared to flow. Hungry child…feed him. Thirsty child…feed her. Tired child…down for nap.
No longer does life flow. Type 1 diabetes and glucose checks are as much a part of our life as any other everyday occurence…just like breathing.