Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Letting Him Take Over

    It has been said many times in many different blogs that William's diabetes and celiac disease belong to him. I read a story about a family that had a girl with type 1 diabetes. The mom and the dad had done everything they could to keep the daughter from having to worry about diabetes as she grew up. They wanted to protect her from the relentless onslaught of worry that comes with this disease. The constant disappointment when you do the same thing over and over again but get different results every time. The stress of knowing that no matter how well you do you may still have problems later on in life because you didn't do well enough. As a parent I can understand these feelings. I would do anything to make sure that William never had to think about diabetes. I guess that is impossible since everything in his life revolves around diabetes. The story continues however that one day this girls parents were both killed in a car accident. They had never taught her how to take care of herself and she was now a teenager with no idea what to do. Is it better that she had all of those years of not worrying about diabetes or was it a terrible thing that she never learned and was never taught?

    William has shown for a while now that he wants to be involved in his care. He has told caregivers that he knows how to use his pump and they have let him. Sometimes he has gotten it right others not so much. I am proud and sad at the same time that he is learning to take care of himself. I am proud that he is becoming independent but I am also sad because I have to give up the protection that I can give him in order for that to happen. I now let William check his blood sugars. We are working on the wash your hands before checking stage. He is seven and a boy so a little dirt doesn't matter to him. I am wondering how much longer it will be before he is doing it all with some supervision. Then he would be doing it all without help. I guess it is positive that I can see a future with him at all. Not too long ago he would have had a short life with no hope. Medical advances have given diabetic people a chance to live longer lives. I am looking forward to the first centurion. We are starting to see diabetics live into their eighties. There is hope that new advances will make diabetes a thing that you do not have to think about except when something fails. I can't wait for that day. I also can not wait until they have a cure . I hope I am alive to see that day. The last day William has to worry about how much he is eating. A day when he can eat pizza or a hamburger bun without all of the bad blood sugars that follow.

    My little man is starting to take things upon himself and I am proud. I want to hold his hand and snuggle on the couch with him forever. I do want to see him grow up to be a man and to have a family that he can care about too. I hope there are many things that he doesn't have to worry about in his life that have hurt me. I hope that he finds joy in his life and that it lasts.

Here is to you little man,

Your Loving Dad

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