Day 24

I read this today

"Living with T1D is a constant challenge. People with the disease must carefully balance insulin doses (either by injections multiple times a day or continuous infusion through a pump) with eating and daily activities throughout the day and night. They must also test their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. Despite this constant attention, people with T1D still run the risk of dangerous high or low blood sugar levels, both of which can be life-threatening. People with T1D overcome these challenges on a daily basis."

 http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=102585

 That last line got me a little.... a lot of people think that after time, everything becomes "normal again"

But that is a mis conception... Living with T1D has different challenges every day...One day you will be high...and one day you will be low, things like stress, sunburn, sickness, lack of sleep, excersize or lack of excersize.. can affect the levels as well...

On that web page I also read a few quotes from kids..and here they are:

"Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes(T1D) need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dieticians all rolled into one. We need to be constantly factoring and adjusting, making frequent finger sticks to check blood sugars, and giving ourselves multiple daily insulin injections just to stay alive."
- JDRF International Chairman Mary Tyler Moore

"to stay alive"  wow, insulin is what keeps my kids alive...Its that real!....That tiny bottle of clear fluid...keeps my kids ...alive.

"It is a 24/7/365 job. We never get to relax and forget about food, whether we've exercised too much or too little, insulin injections, blood sugar testing, or the impact of stress, a cold, a sunburn, and on and on. So many things make each day a risky venture when you live with T1D."
- Mary Vonnegut, adult, Rhode Island

It kind of made me a little sad reading them.. because I know them to be true... SO many kids (and adults) struggle every day for "normalcy" ....

I am SO proud of my kids for fighting the fight and finding their new "normal"....
For not giving up on the things they want to do just because it is "harder now"....

They have a "harder" life, and although they dont need sympathy, sometimes through our busy life I am reminded of how hard things are for them.. The finger pricks, shots, stresses of it all.....

 Its just... a lot.

Madi had a dentist appointment today and she was very tired after...I had to check her glucose and she was just so tired and did not want to deal with it..she said "I just dont want diabetes mom"..
moments like that make me sad...
and although we do our daily lives and go on with things, days like this remind me of the constant struggle they have every day... It really is a lot for a child to deal with..They have days where its just how it is, and they also have days where they really hate it....
.I love my kids so much....They are really great kids and I know as a family we can do our best to make things easier for them, but its a life long disease so its really up to them to stay strong and just chug along.  Im continually thankful for faith and prayer as well...

I love this blog because I believe it is so important for people to know about this disease...and to know what people with this disease have to go through...T1D patients are amazingly strong people!!!