I'm so sorry...

I'm so sorry that my child is an inconvenience to you.

 

Ella has a chronic disease that requires some special needs.

You can't just sweep it under the rug or pretend it's not there.

As hard as we try to give her the most normal life possible,

we can't make it go away.

But she can do anything and eat everything everyone else can.

It just takes a little extra time & planning.

 

Livie doesn't have a chronic disease.

Not yet.

She doesn't need insulin.

Not yet.

But she also can't keep up on her own.

If we tax her little 3-year old system and load it full of carbohydrates,

I will see a blood sugar number > 200 staring back at me.

And I don't want to see that.

 

We are all doing the best we can to feed her meals that will be easy & gentle on whatever remaining beta cells she has. Because, in theory, if we can give her beta cells a break, we may be able to prolong full onset of Type 1 Diabetes. And if I can get just one more year...just ONE MORE YEAR...without the worry of insulin and highs and lows and blood sugar checks and night-time monitoring and ketones, then it is worth eating chicken and green beans for dinner EVERY NIGHT.

 

I'm not asking you to eat chicken & green beans every night.

All I'm asking is that you be considerate.

And yes, that might mean that you are slightly inconvenienced for one afternoon.



But I think I should be able to ask that, right?

Because "We're Family and "That's What Family Does"

Isn't that what I've been told time and time again?

 

You see, telling my family to not come because you're not willing to change a darned thing isn't OK.

Not when they are related to you.

They are so amazing, don't you see that?

Don't you want to be a part of their lives?

To do ANYTHING to be a part of their lives?  

 

There are so many people that ARE willing.

 

The mom at the preschool who overheard my conversation with the teacher and said she would bring in crystal lite for all of the kids instead of lemonade because she didn't want Livie to feel left out.

 

The neighbor down the street who knows nothing about Type 1 Diabetes but is willing to learn so my daughter can play at her house.

 

The Girl Scout Mom who is willing to learn all about Ella's pump so that she doesn't have to be the only one with her Mom around all of the time.

 

The Grandparent who was up 4 times last night checking Ella's blood sugars just so that she could have a sleep-over at their house.

 

The school nurse who texted me at 7:30pm Friday night to see how Ella was doing after her crazy combo-bolus for a 70 carbohydrate pizza hot lunch.

 

I have learned so much over the past year.

I've learned much happiness and much heartache.

I've learned that sometimes blood isn't thicker than water.

I've learned who my true friends are.

I've learned which family members I can count on and which ones I can't.

 

Which one are you going to be?