The day our life changed….the story that always brings makes my eyes a little leaky…
Tyler and I woke up worried about what could be wrong with our little girl who was so sick, she couldn’t walk, who had just puked in her sleep the night before, who had been ill non-stop for nearly a month with ear infections, she was so lethargic …… little did we know we would never be the same.
On the morning of Saturday, March 25, 2017, our reality changed when the doctor told me our daughter had type one diabetes. I was so ticked off – I never let my kids have too much sugar. I quickly learned that too much sugar DOES NOT cause type one (though with type two, too much of certain things can cause problems) – it’s an autoimmune disease that caused her tiny body to attack itself and oust her pancreas.
Sleeping through the night became a distant memory; we learned how to keep her distracted while we pricked her finger, gave her a shot, or inserted whatever technology was needed to keep her safe. I wondered how she would have playdates, whether she’d listen to her body when she goes low, and whether she would tell me what she ate when I wasn’t looking? I have since memorized the carb and protein content of almost any food and can whip up a carb count from any recipe.
While we quickly learned to manage the finger pricks, shots, carb counting, and the many other life adjustments diabetes brings to families – a month later, she was still not the healthiest. I kept reading and asking questions – we discovered she was also dealing with various food allergies, namely – DAIRY. Now seriously, my kid can’t have cheese sticks as a free carb-free snack?? Well, snack on that lemon a second while I regroup over here, but this discovery made me quite bitter about this whole situation.
There’s been a LOT of tears in my house about food choices and what if’s and why not’s and how come’s – but we have decided as a family that our health is number one for us, and we make healthy choices 90% of the time. In the other ten percent, we choose carefully and know how to support our body to stay healthy. It’s not easy, it’s not fun, but it’s way better than the alternative of constant asthma flare-ups, the jitters from the steroids when asthma goes off the rails, migraines, and the list could go on and on.
It’s been a long and windy road, but I feel each challenge has been an opportunity to learn and grow. My passion has always been helping people, I’ve always loved learning new things, and I’ve always been curious about health and fitness. I feel excited at the opportunity to help another family with their new diagnosis by guiding them through the overwhelm of adjusting to a life of counting carbs and analyzing everything they eat.
I felt so isolated and alone with no support system when I was going through it. Sometimes people would say things intending to make you feel better, but it doesn’t – like – oh, have you figured out diabetes yet?
If you feel overwhelmed with all the nutrition choices and want to understand which path would work best for your family – contact me; let’s see how I can help you navigate the overwhelm and come out calm and confident, ready to tackle your new journey together!
