1, 3, and 5 Year Goals

Day 5: What’s your one, three, or five year plan for your Health Activism?

Ask me this 5, or even 3, years ago, and I would've spouted on about the big "C" word, and the importance of raising funds for diabetes research. 2 years ago my focus was almost solely on advocacy. Today, to be honest, it's a mixed bag, but overall, I'm focused on the now.

While I understand that a cure is not in the immediate future, I so still believe with all of my heart that there is one out there, and that the number one barrier to discovering it is money. As a parent of a child with type 1, I can't stop believing in a cure because it's the ultimate goal, the holy grail so to speak. But do I actively seek a cure and tirelessly fund-raise for it? No, not anymore.

And I certainly understand the critical importance and role of advocacy. There are simply too many people who do not receive, or cannot afford, even the most basic of diabetes care, such as insulin and test strips. There are too many children who do not receive government funded insulin pumps, and there are far too many people suffering  the side effects of type 1 diabetes, such as blindness, neuropathy, and kidney problems. Type 1 diabetes is a cripplingly expensive disease and we cannot simply sit back while others struggle. We have the opportunity to be not only a voice, but a gateway between those with information, and those without.

Today, I'm focused on the now. On the present and nothing more. I'm purposefully letting go of the past, and not worrying about the future. I have wasted far too much time and energy stressing over yesterday, and obsessing over a tomorrow that is beyond my control. The present is where I live, and I'm taking care of myself and my family as best I possibly can. I am learning and growing constantly, and teaching my children to do the same. In terms of diabetes, we are focused on day to day care: regular testing, carb counting, daily exercise, consistent sleep patterns. Tomorrow'a A1c, or future complication risk, is not dictated by what we do in the future, it is based on what we do today, and everyday, one day at a time.