Three Year Anniversary

Unbelievable!!! Three years ago today, Andrew's life changed forever. Our whole family changed forever. Diagnosis Anniversaries are always bittersweet. I'm so thankful for how far we've come and the grace that God has extended to us. Yet, I still HATE diabetes. I hate the years it stole from Andrew's life expectency. I hate the joy it removes from his life now because of the ups and downs of blood sugar. Don't get me wrong. Andrew handles all of this so very well. He "does anything he wants to do". But, it makes a difference.

Will is playing first grade Upward basketball this year. He's having the time of his life, and the joy is obvious. Sometimes, his joy reminds me of what Andrew lost. You see Andrew was diagnosed during Upward Basketball of his first grade year. It was the first place that I knew something was wrong. I didn't notice classic medical symptoms like extra thirst or urination. I just had a sick feeling in my stomach that something was wrong. He just didn't look and act like himself. After his diagnosis, I learned that his blood sugar would shoot up really high, like 400-600 high, during games. And that was on insulin. No wonder something seemed wrong. Andrew loves sports, and he's pretty good at them. But he has very few games that he looks joyful all the way through. If he looks like he's having fun, his BG is normal. Most of the time, adrenaline shoots him high & you can see his body is working hard. His expression is one of concentration. Limp is most dangerous. That's low.

Tonight, we went to an awards ceremony for the JDRF Walk. There were so many cute little kids with pumps strapped on them or taking shots for dinner. They wore smiles on their faces, but it broke my heart. I could have cried right there, but that wouldn't help the kids. Tomorrow will be a new day.

I am looking forward to our 4th year. Year one was survival, trying to learn diabetes, have a baby, etc. Since Andrew started on the pump right at a year, his second year was about learning to live on a pump. Year three, I joined CWD forums, read all their recommended books, discovered & ordered Dex, and learned the things not taught by doctors. This year, I hope to work more on diet. I still hate diabetes, but it is more routine now. Andrew's site fell out at school today. He changed it himself. Then he was 501 after lunch and the nurse called for advice while I was teaching class. The tiny 0.65 correction sent him low after he got home. He treated himself & told me on the phone. None of these events sent the slightest adrenaline through my system. All in a days work as a pancreas. So we have made progress. Thank you, God, for carrying us safely through another year!