consano blog

Everyone thinks it’s the shots that are the worst, but it's really not. It's the strict schedule and the dreaded counting of every carbohydrate. It’s the lack of sleep when you set an alarm clock every two hours to check sugars so another potentially fatal night-time seizure won't occur.  It's the heartbreak when she is not included in sleepovers. It's the fear when on the swim team she is conscious, but her blood sugar drops in the 20s, and you have to fight to get her to drink juice.

Through the years we went through anxiety, struggles with school and daycare, and the constant juggle to protect, but also wanting her to have a "normal" childhood.  Disease hits a whole family and I'm sure all five of us would tell a different story.  We volunteered for clinical trials and found out one of our sons tested positive for the marker, but not for the trial and our other son refused to participate. My husband and I were both negative.  
Fast forward six years and our son was playing Freshman football and started to get tired and was getting up to go to the restroom during the night. I checked his sugar and with a reading of 300 we headed back to Emanuel. The embarrassing part starts now. With another diabetic child, I was just as mad as my son was, and was of no help whatsoever. I needed someone else to talk with him about the disease and management.  How could this happen to two of my children? With our combined anger, our household was a lot of fun for a few years….  Then you have the teenage years, and that is a totally different story.

Over the years I have come to grips with life's struggles and my inability to control it all.  We have remained a family.  As a nurse, I see all of the complications of the disease (the amputations, blindness, renal failure, etc.). I see how people judge the "non compliant" diabetics, and I want to scream.  It's not easy to manage on a day-to-day basis.  There are no days off. I believe this autoimmune disease can be cured.

•   It Matters to Me
•   Type 1 Diabetes
•   Diabetes

My greatest hope for people with Type 1 Diabetes in the future is to have access to the latest medical technology regardless of their finances. I have been fortunate to have health insurance that has greatly reduced the cost of devices like an insulin pump, or a continuous glucose monitor. These advances can make it much easier, not only to manage blood glucose levels, but to actually feel physically better on a daily basis. Without insurance, these devices can cost thousands of dollars.

Advancement in Type 1 Diabetes management from medical research allows me to have a fairly normal life in 2013, which is much different than 20 years ago with diabetes management. I get to take ownership of my disease management now. I can decide the level of exercise I want to participate in, choose the foods I eat, and manage my insulin intake accordingly. 

•   It Matters to Me
•   Type 1 Diabetes
•   Diabetes