Of all the photos taken over 20 years of my daughter Lauren’s diabetes life, the one that haunts me is the one in which she – and we – had no idea Type 1…
Category: Parenting (Children)
Is it odd that I sometimes yearn for the simple days when we had no social media (to scare us even as it supports us), no Dexcom Share (to unnerve us even…
“Are you back?” I asked my son, as I always do when he’s had a low blood sugar and then juice.
“No,” he answered.
I checked him again: 47. Just two digits…
Two years ago, my husband Mike began to feel unsteady as he walked with Tom, our oldest son, to an appointment. Mike wasn't quite walking in a straight line, and he was sweating. Tom noticed and asked Mike if he was okay. "Yes," Mike said. "I just need to get some food."
Mike was looking for a store, somewhere he could buy something - anything - to put into his mouth. He knew his blood sugar was low
Our first holiday season with diabetes in the family was 20 Christmases ago, but I can remember it like it was an hour ago. It was all centered on sugar…
But the last thing anyone wants to do is dress up as a freaking glucose meter. Or worse, a CGM that beeps all through the party. And then... you can't dress up as a syringe or everyone will think you're a prick. You know what happened to me last time I wore my paper mache metformin costume?
Unless your blood sugars are well over 200 mg/dL for days on end, there's no reason a woman with type 1 diabetes will have any more difficulty producing breast milk than a non-diabetic woman.”
There’s another kind of auntie our world needs: this one’s bond with the person comes not from blood, but from blood sugar. This auntie’s advice, compassion, and care comes not from knowing what it means to live with diabetes or care for someone with diabetes.
Michelle Sorensen, M.ED, Clinical Psychologist is passionate about increasing the counseling capacity of healthcare professionals who support people loving with type 1 diabetes. The majority of healthcare professionals have been trained in directing and educating clients but Sorensen sees that people living with type 1 diabetes respond better to a counseling approach. “It’s about understanding how you help the patient tap into their own resources,” says Sorensen.
The past two weeks my six-year-old daughter, who does not have type 1 diabetes, has been wearing an old, worn insulin pump pouch that belongs to her eight-year-old brother, who does have type 1 diabetes.