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Good morning. This week marks 25 years since I spent a week over Christmas at the Alberta Children’s Hospital after being diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. I was six years old.
I remember having everything I ate counted and my blood sugar monitored 24/7 for the entire duration of my stay. This was how the doctors figured out my insulin regime and taught my parents how to take care of me.
My parents took this regime to heart. My mom used to sleep on the floor of my bedroom so she could wake up every hour to test my blood sugar. If I was low she would wake me up and beg me to eat something.
Both of my parents took turns doing this. To their credit, they tried their hardest to let me live a normal life. We weighed my food in restaurants. I tested dozens of times per day. But I was never limited in what I was allowed to do.
I played every sport. I had sleepovers away from home. I learned to take care of myself and they learned to trust that I could. I’ve only had two severe low incidents in my life. Once at home and once at a friend’s. It was terrifying both times. We learned to adapt.
When I was fourteen I went to Mexico with my school to build houses. My parents made it work. My dad came with us. I moved away to university. I’ve since been on three cross-continent backpacking trips. I’ve lived in four countries on three continents.
Being a Type I Diabetic is a forever part of me. It’s probably costed my parents (and eventually me) $100k over 25 years. Yes, here in Canada. Every time I test my blood sugar it costs $1. But I’m mostly healthy. I live a good life.
I am eternally grateful for my family and my support network. 25 years ago all of our lives changed completely. Anyways, this is what I think about at Christmas every year.
Addendum: my support network is people but it is also structures and institutions. I think about that a lot. It has shaped my entire worldview.
