Dear Friends and Family –
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t have diabetes.”
“I don’t like having to check my blood sugar all the time.”
These two statements were followed by the expression of desire for limitless candy when we were on vacation. However trivial the situation, the impact was huge. This was the first time in the seven Grace has had diabetes that she has said anything to us about not liking diabetes. These statements were followed by another first, less than a month later, “I wish I didn’t have to feel high.” As Grace is growing up, she is becoming more aware of the impact of Type 1 diabetes in her life.
In the years since Grace was diagnosed at age two and a half, diabetes has been a large part of our family’s life. And, even if Grace hasn’t expressed that she doesn’t like having diabetes, we have disliked it enough for her. I have gone to bed in tears countless times, knowing the pain I have caused her that day, whether with a mistake during a pump site change or waking her to prick her finger for a blood sugar check in the middle of the night. Grace is stronger than I can imagine, living with the daily trials of diabetes for all these years without complaint.
The difficulties of Grace’s life with diabetes include:
The endless finger pricks, over 20,000 so far. The pump site changes inserting inch-long needles. The carbohydrate counting for everything she eats to make sure she gets enough insulin. The waiting to check her blood sugar, while classmates go on to lunch or friends get to have a treat first. The diabetes supply bag she has to carry with her everywhere. The uncomfortable feelings of being “high” and “low.” The fear of…so many things; my worst is the possibility of insulin overdose, which could result in seizure, coma or death. There are the mundane daily fears of forgetting her glucose meter, being stuck somewhere without a snack when she’s low, having her pump site come out away from home. And, there are the not so mundane fears of the long-term complications of having diabetes…problems that could affect Grace’s eyesight, circulation or most any organ in her body.
The hopes of Grace’s life with diabetes include:
The pump she wears that helps manage her insulin. The continuous glucose monitor she doesn’t have yet that could tell what her blood sugar level is all the time. The improvements in diabetes management brought about by research, such as the real possibility of an artificial pancreas. And, more than ever, A CURE FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES!
What a hope for Grace to have in her lifetime! It may not seem real to her nine-year old self yet, but it is so real to us. As much as I have tears of sadness thinking about Grace having to grow up with diabetes, I have tears of joy thinking about the cure. The hope for a cure is why I am writing to you. For many of you, I am writing again, and again, and again. As always, I am hopeful that this is the last time I will ask for your support in finding a cure. Please consider making a donation to this year’s JDRF Walk for a Cure. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is dear to our hearts, not only for the research they support, but for the support they give our family.
If you would like to contribute to this year’s Walk financially, please do so by going to www.jdrf.org and donating to Grace’s page. You can also send a check either to the JDRF office at 105 West Park Drive, Suite 415, Brentwood, TN 37027, or to our home at 513 Logwood Briar Cir, Brentwood, TN 37027. If you would like to join Grace’s Groovers “Groovin’ for a Cure”, we’ll be walking at the Bicentennial Mall in Nashville on September 25th.
Most of all, please continue to keep Grace in your thoughts and prayers. We believe in your help to make the cure for Type 1 diabetes a reality!
Sincerely,
Monique and Mike Kueker
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