While we have been very fortunate to have a young T1D that is generally very accepting of her disease and almost always takes everything that comes along with it in stride, there are still times when something happens or is said that just breaks our hearts. There have been a handful of times in the past when Emerson has said “I don’t want diabetes anymore.” Usually this has occurred after having us tell her it would be best if she didn’t eat some unhealthy treat or after we have asked her to settle down for awhile after being low. But we always reply by telling her that we don’t want her to have it either and that she was chosen to have it because she is so strong and deals with it so well and that she has a great opportunity to spread the awareness and understanding to other people. We can get away with this now because she is only 4 ½ and doesn’t fully grasp what we are telling her…but can you imagine how she will react to that reasoning when she is 10 and none of that matters to her!
Anyway, we heard a new line from her this past weekend. Out of the blue she said “I don’t want to have diabetes anymore because getting my blood tested takes forever.” We couldn’t help but laugh given that glucose checks are obviously not time intensive events! But when you step back and think about how this was just another attempt at coming up with a good reason why she shouldn’t be impacted by this disease, it does create one of those moments where you feel so bad about what she is going through but you can’t let her know that. We can’t imagine how hard it would be to deal so well with such a difficult disease….with only the rare attempt at convincing mom and dad to make it go away.
Grandpa and grandma hate this dang disease too and wish there was some way to make it go away. She is such a trooper about it
ReplyDeleteWhat a smart response, turning it into a sign of her strength!
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone. My son was diagnosed when he was 6, one week before Halloween. Halloween night, after trick or treating, we were swapping out most of his candy for healthier things he could eat when he said "I can't wait till I don't have diabetes anymore." I broke down and cried. Hell, I'm crying now and that was almost 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI've had T1D, diagnosed at 4 years old, for over 30 years and my parents always told me that it would be cured before I was XX years old. The age always changing, until I just stopped asking about it.
My advice (not that you asked), be honest. I had a long talk with my son and HE made ME feel better. He gets frustrated sometimes, but he hasn't asked about it since that night. And he is SO much better about taking care of his than I ever was of mine at that age.
Love your blog by the way! :)