In The Grand Scheme of Things

Welcome to Diabetes Blog Week 2014!  Today's topic is 'Change the World.' Let's kick off Diabetes Blog WEek by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up.


I've gotten involved in a variety of diabetes-related causes and issues over the years.  I've signed all kinds of petitions, written letters, shared concerns on facebook and twitter.  Our family participates in at least JDRF fundraiser 'for a cure' each year including occasionally volunteering at these events.  We have donated both money and supplies to other diabetes charities. Given the opportunity, I'll do whatever it takes to convince a parent of the importance of a 504 plan in conjunction with a good relationship with the administration and staff at school. At different times I feel 'fired up' about different issues.  But they all pale in comparison to what children with fewer resources than mine go through to live with diabetes.  

We have a plastic drawer full of fairly accurate test strips.  We wish they were more accuarate.

My daughter has an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitoring system, several glucometers and a ketone meter.  We wish they'd all work together as an artificial pancreas.

We have insulin in our refrigerator and if we run low, a pharmacy a mile away from our house.  We're annoyed when we forget to call in the refill.

We drive to the endocrinologist's office three or four times per year where we receive excellent care from both the doctor and a full team of diabetes specialists.  The rush hour traffic on the drive home is frustrating.

We sometimes have to push for better understanding or communication from school, but my daughter is safe and happy there with a full-time school nurse and informed staff.

These day-to-day challanges of diabetes are real, but pale in comparison to what too many other children with diabetes live with each day.  Insulin For Life is an organization which provides diabetes supplies and care to children who otherwise would have none. None. Not strips which don't work as well as we'd like them to.  Not insulin they ran out of so they have to make a 6 a.m. run to CVS.  Not electronics they'd really like to replace with the newest model or the pink version.  Not doctors whose waiting rooms could really use free Wifi. None.  If there's a cause to rally around, basic care for children who have none at all seems to me the most important.

Could our lives with diabetes be better?  Always.  But in the grand scheme of things, we really, really can't complain.