One. Great. Thing. My son does everything great when it comes to his diabetes.
My son checks his sugar at the appropriate times. My son counts his carbs (or has us count them) before he eats anything. My son breezes through POD changes every 3 days. My son carries his diabetes bag every where around school without complaints. My son rocks when it comes to his diabetes care.
But THE one great thing that my son does is take it all in stride.
While this may not seem like that is a one great thing that someone can do. Let me tell you, taking diabetes in stride is amazing for anyone, never mind an almost 9 year old that is going on 5 years with this disease.
Diabetes is messy. Diabetes is annoying, intrusive, disrespectful and a bully. Diabetes doesn’t know when to shut up and just sit down. Diabetes doesn’t take a vacation. It is on duty 24 hours a day. Even Christmas. I mean for God’s sake even the Shoprite closes for Christmas, at least for a few hours. Nope, not diabetes.
Diabetes follows him to school. Annoys him in the shower. Insists on coming to the beach. Diabetes plays soccer, football, Frisbee and video games. Diabetes just…ugh.
Oh, diabetes also takes State Standardized testing. My son took our State’s testing last week. Diabetes was making sure my son remembered that it was with him all the way. Kind of like a cheerleader offering support, NOT.
Day One of testing my son’s blood glucose went from 119 to 53 to 60 to 358 where he stuck for a few hours. Over the course of the testing day, about 9:30 am to about 12:15 pm my son had to test his sugar over 5 times. His teachers were concerned with the low and then the high. Concerned enough that they had him test well above our normal testing schedule of 2 times per day at school.
This is how the conversation went when he got home from school that day.
Me: Hey Buddy.
Him: Hi Mama.
Me: Hey Buddy. Sorry about today and all. All that nonsense with your numbers.
Him: It’s okay Mama.
And. That’s. It.
IT’S OKAY MAMA!
He had to prick his own finger, make himself bleed 5 times over the course of 3 hours and all he wants to say is, “It’s okay, Mama.”
He had to endure the shaky feeling he gets when his blood glucose dips, and apparently he had to endure it for quite some time because his number was not coming up on subsequent checks. He had to then feel the awful sensations that come along with his blood glucose shooting to high, the confusion, the thirst, the extra trips to the bathroom. And what does he say about it all, “That’s okay, Mama.”
No screaming. No crying. No anger. No resentment. No bottled up feelings. No nothing.
My son teaches me a lesson everyday when it comes to how he handles his diabetes. He is my hero. He is my heart and soul and the person I admire most in this world.
And he’s right, you know, it is okay, mama. It is okay.