As most of you know, my sister has Type 1. Which more or less means that she has to watch every single thing she eats. Crappy as a teenager.
She was diagnosed with diabetes about 3 years ago.... in the beginning it was overwhelming. Counting carbs, measuring food, drawing up insulin correctly to the 0.1 place, mixing insulin, it goes on and on. But we managed! We went to Mexico that January, equipped with measuring spoons and a whole suitcase of snacks, and managed to have a blast.
Fast forward to today, and I can't imagine life without her diabetes. She uses a pump, a nifty device that supplies her with a basal amount of insulin throughout the day, and a bolus amount with food. Most days I forgot about it entirely!
Unfortunately, auto-immune diseases, like Type 1, often go hand-in-hand with another. Yesterday we were told it's Celiacs disease. So now, not only does she have to be mindful of what she's eating, her limited choices have to be edited once again to be gluten-free. Awesome.
I can't believe what she's gone through - it must really, truly, suck. Finger poking, blood samples, IV's, scopes, eat this but not that, check sugar, read labels.... Yet she comes out of the Stollery thankful she can live a long life, that she doesn't have cancer, that she doesn't have to be admitted for weeks at time. And her experiences have planted the idea of becoming a counsellor.... a perfect fit for her personality.
Where does this maturity come from?? A month away from 18 and she is taking this in stride better than most people would.
In the beginning (and still at times!), I would wrestle with 'why her?' - she hates blood, loves to go out and socialize, and should be a care-free teenager. There are 3 siblings in our family - why does one kid get BOTH diseases?! Surely it could've been distributed a little more fairly....
I still don't know why she got a double-whammy. But she continues to handle it with such maturity and just the right amount of humor that I know she'll be OK.
D.
She was diagnosed with diabetes about 3 years ago.... in the beginning it was overwhelming. Counting carbs, measuring food, drawing up insulin correctly to the 0.1 place, mixing insulin, it goes on and on. But we managed! We went to Mexico that January, equipped with measuring spoons and a whole suitcase of snacks, and managed to have a blast.
Fast forward to today, and I can't imagine life without her diabetes. She uses a pump, a nifty device that supplies her with a basal amount of insulin throughout the day, and a bolus amount with food. Most days I forgot about it entirely!
Unfortunately, auto-immune diseases, like Type 1, often go hand-in-hand with another. Yesterday we were told it's Celiacs disease. So now, not only does she have to be mindful of what she's eating, her limited choices have to be edited once again to be gluten-free. Awesome.
I can't believe what she's gone through - it must really, truly, suck. Finger poking, blood samples, IV's, scopes, eat this but not that, check sugar, read labels.... Yet she comes out of the Stollery thankful she can live a long life, that she doesn't have cancer, that she doesn't have to be admitted for weeks at time. And her experiences have planted the idea of becoming a counsellor.... a perfect fit for her personality.
Where does this maturity come from?? A month away from 18 and she is taking this in stride better than most people would.
In the beginning (and still at times!), I would wrestle with 'why her?' - she hates blood, loves to go out and socialize, and should be a care-free teenager. There are 3 siblings in our family - why does one kid get BOTH diseases?! Surely it could've been distributed a little more fairly....
I still don't know why she got a double-whammy. But she continues to handle it with such maturity and just the right amount of humor that I know she'll be OK.
D.
