The Appointment

Endocrinologist appointments are important touchstones in life with diabetes. It's a quarterly or tri-annual check-in at which months of diabetes are assessed as a whole.

We went into the city for my daughter's appointment yesterday.

There were no extraordinary clinical components to the visit except that she's now officially taller than me. Otherwise it was a run-of-the-mill appointment with conversations about adjusting basal rates and when to get lab work done again.

What distinguished this appointment for me was subtle but significant.

A few minutes into the conversation I noticed two things.

I had said nothing since greeting the doctor when we walked into his office.

I was sitting back in my chair while my daughter was on the front edge of the chair, leaning towards the doctor's desk, and talking with him about her diabetes.

She's been going to the endocrinologist since she before she could walk.  Over the following 16 years, she's answered a few more questions and engaged in a little more conversation each visit, but I've always taken the lead. Until yesterday, when I'm pretty sure she did.

I had not asked her to be more involved, and I'm not even sure she was intentional about being such a big part of the conversation. I tend to think it was more of a natural progression. She's come a long way since I had to carry a diaper bag full of toys to entertain her through every appointment!