Teach a Man to Fish ~ D Blog Week, Day 2

Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”.  But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit.  Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly!  Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes.  Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well! 

One perfect thing. Hmm. To be honest, when I first read this topic I thought of all the things I don't do perfectly; all the things I could do BETTER. I'm human, I make mistakes. Even when it comes to diabetes care for my son. 

Sometimes I forget to take a tester when we leave the house. We test a lot but could always test more. I'm not bang-on every time when guessing carbs (though I am pretty darn close most of the time, thank you very much). I let the infusion set go an extra day if it looks good and is still working properly. I tend to over-treat lows. I'm scared to bolus a high bg in the middle of the night out of fear that Dyl will get too low. I hold my breath when I enter his room to check a nighttime bg and I don't release it until I know he's still breathing.

Could I do better? Definitely. But there is one thing I have done very well; the one thing I really pride myself on when it's comes to diabetes. And that's teach. I've taught Dylan how to take care of the majority of his own diabetes care because I can't be there every minute. I oversee everything, of course, but for the most part, he's got it. He does his own tests. He counts his own carbs (sometimes better than I do). He is the master of his pump and knows its ins and outs as if it's a part of his own body. He can change his own infusion sets, though he prefers not to. He treats his own highs and lows. And he knows when to ask for help. 

The most powerful tool I've given him, however, is the belief and understanding that diabetes does not define him. It is a part of him, but not all of him. He can do anything he wants, eat anything he wants, be anything he wants. Diabetes has not, does not, and will not, EVER, stand in his way.