The Long Walk, Ten Years and Counting!

                There are a lot of things I am thankful for. If I really set my mind to it I could fill pages, but there is someone I’m especially thankful for and I’d like to tell you about her.

              I’m looking at my calendar, reading the notation under November 27^th,  the day after Thanksgiving. The scribbled note at the bottom of the date reads  ”Chelsey  -  Diabetes (2010)”.  I’ll never forget that weekend!  My daughter wasn’t feeling very well at Thanksgiving and eventually ended up in the ICU of a local hospital, taking some of her first steps in her journey into the world of diabetes.

                At first things went slowly, we were all concerned, of course.  But this woman pulled up her boot straps and started the walk. I’m sure she was scared, how could she not be? Being told that her life as she knew it would be changing. Without knowing any details about her condition other than she was now a diabetic. Her world was tumbling. There was so much unknown territory ahead. I remember being told my own diagnosis and thinking that my current lifestyle was over. (Over 40 years ago and I can remember it like it was yesterday!)

                Two days later on the 29^th, she gave herself an injection, the first of thousands she would be delivering. Fighting to overcome her fear of needles she managed to do it! There were so many steps she was taking in those first few days, first steps in a very long walk.

                Over the past ten years her walk continues and she constantly shows me the power she holds within herself. Studying and researching various pumps and manufacturers before deciding which pump to use, managing her college courses and later her job. She managed her pregnancy by keeping her A1c levels extremely close to normal, a difficult thing to do! She and her supportive husband are raising a wonderful little boy and they both are maintaining jobs and dealing with the various restrictions of an ongoing pandemic and remaining healthy while doing it! They are living normal lives!

                No one has ever said that being a diabetic is easy, for the patient or their support members. It is an ongoing fight to stay healthy, eat properly, exercise and deal with the stresses of everyday life. Diabetes is a mental game also!

                I look back at these last ten years and I can’t help but be proud of the way my daughter has handled herself. She has helped others with their diabetic journeys. She has shown me more than once her inner fortitude and has pointed me the way to go through example!

                So, on this day, the 27^th of November 2020, I have to remember some of the important things I’m thankful for. Family and friends, we help each other through the tough stretches. Our health, we need to try our best to stay healthy, do your part!  The fact that we have a roof over our heads and a way to pay for the expenses we encounter. I’m thankful for the current state of technology; thanks to it I can see and talk with my grandson (and his Mom) via the internet. I’m so thankful for all the people I love and hold dear to me! I hope we all had a chance to think about all these things which fuel our lives before we dove into the Thanksgiving meal. (sequestered of course)

                 I just have to say, again, how proud I am of my daughter's achievements. They are too numerous to count, every time she stops to do a blood test, another small achievement is reached. 

                 I think back to some of the many adventures we had together, the Diabetes Tour in NYC,  http://booksadventuresandlife.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-york-city-diabetes-tour-2011.html , to name just one and all the great times we had together, they make me look forward to the ones we will take in the future.  Keep walkin’, stay strong and stay proud!

                I’ve told you this before, but I’ll say it again, “Chelsey, You make me so proud!”.

 I love you!

 As Mr. Rogers would say…”IPOY, 143!!”

Happy D-Day!!!

 

            Sometimes it looks as if the stairs go on forever...but once you get to the top and look back, you find out that the time has flown by and it was all worthwhile! 

*          And lastly… thank heavens for the "handrails"!