Support

I truly am one of the luckiest people on the planet. About one year after my son was diagnosed with diabetes I joined the world of technology and "found" the Internet. I had been struggling for most of that year. I knew no one with diabetes. I was living far away from family. Life was hard in a lot of ways. I had a child with diabetes who hated to eat. I did not have a clue how to give him the insulin I knew he needed and keep him conscious. I was spending more meals in tears than not. I was at my wits end.

I searched for children with diabetes and it did not take me long to find my life-line. I found the Children with Diabetes website but more than that I found some incredible friends. I found people that would challenge me to do more...and I did. I found find friends who would help me when times were tough...and they were. I found friends who would cry with me when that was all I had the strength to do. I found friends who believed in me.

Over the years I have lost track of some of these people but many more have remained incredible friends. I have been able to give back to some people and hopefully be there for a few more. I learned about "Friends for Life". Those are people who are brought into your life because they are struggling to deal with the same chronic illness that you are. They have been there, done that...and guess what? We do have t-shirts!

As I posted the other day, my latest trial has been puberty and not testing. I went to my CWD email list and asked for advice from those who had survived the teen years and have such incredibly well adjusted young adults in their lives. Once again I found awesome advice, incredible support and just as importantly, I was able to open up a venue for others to express that they were going through the exact same thing and how they were handling things.

I wasn't alone and funny but even those kids that I thought were perfect had had their moments as well. As terrible as it sounds, that made me feel better too!

One of my friends provided me with extra support. She knew of someone who specialized in this issue. He had lived with diabetes for almost 50 years and was well versed in teen aged issues. He kindly called me and we chatted for a bit. He gave me some guidance and helped me to put things in perspective. He told me to call anytime. His time is paid for by Animas (Johnson and Johnson) and they offer his service freely. He was worth his weight in gold to me. I am not claiming that life will now be a bed of roses. He said some very powerful things and I have a LOT of work to do. He did not claim that this would be a cure and my son would instantly realize all that he had to do, the dangers of diabetes, or the sacrifices of his mother. Actually he claimed just the opposite...the kid will hate you but it will work out. Ironically, that was comforting.

Forty-eight hours ago I was stressed, depressed and alone. Today I am know how un-alone I really am. I have incredible friends who look out for me no matter how far apart we may be geographically. I truly am very blessed.