A day in the life of every person living with T1D…it’s more complex than people realize
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) has affected my life since the day I was born. It is, in fact, the reason why I was born. You see, my parents lost their first-born and only son to T1D when he was just eight years old. I was born eighteen months later to parents already in their forties.
My parents gave me life to replace the life they had lost.
Ten years after that first shocking diagnosis of T1D in our family, my oldest sister was also diagnosed with the disease at age sixteen. Now the deep sorrow that my family had experienced at my brother’s sudden death was coupled with intense fear. Fear that yet another family member would be diagnosed with T1D.
In 2002, my middle son was diagnosed with T1D at age five.
Since his diagnosis, I have dedicated myself to doing all I can to find a cure for this complicated and insidious auto-immune disease. By fundraising, advocating before my elected officials, and sharing my story of hope amidst the sorrow, I’m proud to say we are closer than ever before to a cure.
I’m always willing to share my story in person, to audiences large and small. If you’re interested in having me speak to your group please contact me. I was the Fund-A-Cure speaker at the 2012 JDRF Promise Ball in Philadelphia. At this event we raised over $1.2M.
Here are a few of the articles I have written about being a parent of a child with T1D:
The Day My Son’s Endo Kicked Me Out – my experience of transitioning my son to an adult endocrinologist.
What Saved My Son’s Life– the importance of having glucagon handy, especially when traveling.
The Stomach Flu Away From Home – getting the stomach flu in college and how to be prepared.
How Can I Manage Fear
If you’re like most of the world today, the question how can I manage fear lurks stealthily in the shadows of daily life. Between pandemic, worldwide recession, and threat of global war, every day offers up sufficient opportunity to flex our fear muscles. Onto...
How to Handle Fear in Managing Your Child’s T1D
When my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age five, I thought the greatest fear in managing my child's T1D would be injecting him with insulin. I would soon discover there were far greater fears awaiting me as his caregiver. “What if his blood sugar drops...
After Diagnosis: Letting Go of The Way We Were
I was no stranger to T1D when my son was diagnosed with the disease at age five. My sister has been living with T1D since she was sixteen years old, and my brother died as he was being diagnosed with the disease when he was just eight years old. I was born eighteen...
I’m the texting type – a day in the life of T1D
I have been surrounded by loved ones affected by type 1 diabetes (T1D) my entire life—first as a sister, and then as a mother. And while raising a child with T1D has certainly given me a front-row seat to the challenges of managing this complicated disease, it was...
A Walk to Remember
The rain fell in continuous sheets that week, as it had for most of the summer and early autumn. Every day I checked the weather report, wondering if this would be the first year we would walk in the rain at the annual JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. But Walk...
Through a Child’s Eyes
This photo has stood sentry on my dressing table for as long as I can remember. It’s one of those cheesy shopping mall photos - the Christmas tree isn’t real, but the smiles on my boys’ faces certainly are. In the eyes of the one, I see the strength and...
When Light Breaks Through the Darkness
They called it a bomb cyclone; I call it forty-four hours without power. Forty-four winter hours with no heat. No light. And not even cell service. We were all bracing for the winter nor’easter to rear its ugly head, interrupting our weekend plans with...
Life, Interrupted
Life has a funny way of interrupting our best-made plans. It was supposed to have been a glorious season. A capstone season. An icing on the cake, cherry on top of the sundae season. After working harder than she had ever worked, being in the best...
