My name is Jennifer, and I live in Southern California with my husband, Craig, and our two boys. Our oldest son James has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I’m thankful for this opportunity — along with my sister-in-law Kim and her daughter Kaitlyn, who also has type 1 diabetes — to share our struggles and triumphs with our friends in the diabetes community.
by Jen M., Real Moms Talk Type 1
A T1D diagnosis is enough to make Halloween pretty scary for parents. But it doesn’t have to be.
James has shown not only tremendous interest in learning to work his new insulin pump, but a competency as a digital native that his parents aren’t able to match. And that has some unexpected benefits.
That such huge advances could be made in the seemingly short lifetime of my little son is mind-boggling to me.
The right decision is rarely black and white when it comes to parenting. But that’s one thing that type 1 diabetes has taught me pretty well.
In the very early days of diagnosis, when James was still so little, I worried every second about his blood sugar. If that’s where you are now, please know: It really does get better.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it to make the long drive to visit a diabetes doctor who fills us with positivity and confidence.
It might look unremarkable at first glance, but the “diabetes cart” is a perfect representation of the amount of work we still have to do in educating schools about type 1 diabetes.
At first, we didn’t participate. Now, I consider medical studies to be one of the unforeseen positive side effects of a diabetes diagnosis.
It’s the tagline for the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California, but it could be the tagline for families with type 1 diabetes.
Technology has opened so many doors for kids with type 1 diabetes to participate in all the activities life presents to them. But that often means more work on the back end to make sure those activities are safe.
