An Excerpt from the Upcoming Book; 585, The Number That Changed Our Lives
Raising a Child with Type One Diabetes Part One
Coping with the Diagnosis
My firstborn son is a 25-year-old Type One Diabetic and has been living with this chronic disease since he was 23 months old. To say that hearing the doctor diagnose him with it was frightening is an understatement compared to the full gamut of emotions one would go through when hearing that there is something wrong with your child’s health. Something that you cannot just fix with a prescription medication, something that an over-the-counter supplement or diet change can fix. No, Type One Diabetes is that something that will travel with your child the rest of their entire life and there is nothing you can do to take it away, to change it, or to stop it from dwelling in their body. No, instead it is something that you learn to cope with, manage, master, live with and teach them how to thrive with in spite of. And that is exactly what my family has done.
It has taken me a long time (over 15 years) to decide to share our journey with the world. In 2006 I self-published a first draft of a book of poems and brief essays about our lives raising a child with Type One diabetes. But the shelf life of that book didn’t last long, I un-published it, locked it away and moved on. Now, 18 years later I am finally at the point of not only being ready to share my story but am in the process of self-publishing it.
I’m excited to say that 585, The Number That Changed Our Lives, will be published on March 30, 2024, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a little sneak peek into the book starting with an excerpt from the “Insight and Tips” Section that discusses Coping with the Diagnosis.
Excerpt: “Coping with the Diagnosis”
Hearing the doctor diagnose your child as a Type One diabetic can be a devastating moment. Many things can go through the mind of any parent when faced with a life altering diagnosis. Yes, it is manageable, yes, your child can still be treated just like every other child their age, but; there is still that feeling of “why my child?” “What could we have done differently?” or “What didn’t we do?” Fortunately, there is nothing that you did or did not do as a parent to have caused your child to be one of many living with Type One diabetes, and there is nothing you could have done differently.
Coping with Type One diabetes can be easy if you follow the directions from your child’s Endocrinologist and or doctor, ask questions when you are not sure, and work together with your doctors as a team. Checking your child’s blood sugar before breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime can be overwhelming, add to that giving an injection of insulin after each meal and before bed and you are really overwhelmed. However, there are a couple of things you can do to help you get through the first few days, or weeks.
• Talk about it: Don’t be ashamed or afraid to go to family or close friends to discuss your feelings good or bad. Talking about it is therapeutic and can help things become clearer.
This is just a portion of the information provided in this section of the book. I share a few more tips on Coping with the Diagnosis and much more. Another sneak peek is on the way so stay tuned.
In the meantime, please share this story with anyone you know living with type one diabetes whether it is because they have it themselves, are raising a child with it or know someone who is, there may be a little gem of information that will help make their journey a little easier and that is my goal.
