Navigating Life as a T1D Mom
Two years ago, on what was supposed to be a regular Monday morning, my then 6 year old son Cameron, who’s now 9, was rushed to Children’s Hospital and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).
When you have T1D, your body stops producing insulin — a hormone essential to turning food into energy. This autoimmune disease struck suddenly and was devastating to me at the time, as there’s no cure. I remember crying hopelessly in the hallway after Cam was admitted to Children’s. While my husband and I were familiar with Type 2 Diabetes, we were simply stunned that Type 1 hit our home, and we didn’t know of anyone personally who had the disease.
With the help of the awesome endocrinology team at Children’s, our parents support, and the prayers of loved ones, we were ultimately able to digest the news. Honestly though, as a mom, I think the biggest reason I got through those first few days was because Cam had a positive attitude. He never cried or complained during those initial days of testing, injections, training and more. Even with being admitted to the hospital and us explaining his diagnosis to me, it didn’t seem to scare him or break his spirit. All thanks be to God!
After our 2 day stay at the hospital and T1D training, we were released to go back home. My son’s new normal and subsequently our family’s quickly became filled with checking his blood sugar levels several times a day, injecting him with insulin for every meal and at bedtime, monitoring his activity, counting carbs and more to ensure he remains as healthy as possible and avoids potentially life-threatening effects and long-term complications. While life with the disease is certainly not hopeless, and in so many ways Cam’s life is the same as it was pre-diagnosis, still with T1D there are no days off.
I don’t talk about Cam’s diabetes a lot because I never want anything or anyone to label him. The disease doesn’t define him, and he has been able to thrive and live a happy and healthy life in spite of it. However, I felt inspired to share today because we are all faced with something at some point in life – whether it’s a disease, a heartbreak, losing a job or something else that initially jolts us. Facing a challenge is apart of life, but challenges are simply commas, not periods. Life goes on, and even hard things can work together for our good. When I think about the past 2 years, and look ahead towards the future, 2 things come to mind related to Cam’s diabetes journey that I hope inspires everyone.
It’s ok to have bad days. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad life.
That first year and a half overall was smooth sailing. Cam still had a positive outlook and rarely complained. However, over the past 6 - 9 months or so, I think he hit a point of getting tired of the daily management of the disease. Things like having to go to the nurse’s office at school to test and get insulin or having to make smarter choices about sweets/carbs was becoming a chore and bore for him. Plus, none of his close peers has diabetes and naturally no one enjoys being stuck with needles everyday. Of course as a mama, those times where he has a frustrated moment or I have to say no to a snack he wants breaks my heart. In those times, I’ve found it important to validate that it’s ok for him to be frustrated in a moment (he’s entitle to his feelings), but to also remind him that this one moment doesn’t define his whole life. That one necessary no is small in comparisons to the tons of other yeses (by the way — diabetics or at least Cam can occasionally have dessert with insulin or if his sugar is low). That this 1 or 2 minutes of “handling his business” leads to enjoying his food and returning to normalcy. The point is perspective matters, and this lesson doesn’t just apply to diabetes, but our perspective on anything is so important.
Joy in the journey
When I reflect on the past 2+ years later, overall I’m glad to share that we have been kicking T1D’s butt, providing awareness, raising funds for a cure, and working on ways to provide a better life for my son and those affected by T1D. Both Cam and I now have new purposes in life. His includes becoming a chef that specializes in delicious low carb foods and mines includes fostering that dream for him and championing more resources and options for the T1D community. While these dreams are not fully realized today, maybe 2 years or 5 years or more from now they will be and reading this blog post will make me smile.
While T1D stopped the proper functioning of Cam’s pancreas, it hasn’t stopped his joy, his growth, his activities like playing sports (physical activity is actually great for diabetics), and most importantly his life! No parent wants their child to have a disease, but I’m grateful that my son can live a full life, in spite of T1D. I’m very proud of Cam and the maturity he’s gained through this. He can literally manage testing, injecting, carb counting and more all by himself if he had to. I’m proud of myself, too. Although Children’s has been great, there is no manual for navigating life as a T1D mom, and again, I don’t have any family or friends who have the disease (although I do now know 2 other T1D mamas). So I’ve been learning as we go, and Cam has faced no serious health risks, so I feel good about taking good care of him. Just like it’s no days off for him, it’s no days off for me in caring for him, and I wear it as a badge of honor. You have no idea what you will face as a parent, and I’m grateful that God equipped me to be the mother Cameron needs. I’m not perfect, and I don’t do it all alone (my husband is the bomb and shares the load, along with our awesome parents), but I’m giving myself a pat on the back, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
We continue to pray for a cure, and in the meantime, Cam will keep on living his best life! I hope my transparency today has encouraged someone. I’d love to connect with any other T1D mamas in the DMV. If that’s you shoot me an email at hello@shalycetyson.com or DM me on IG @shalycetyson.
Have a glowing day!
Xo,
Shalyce