by Robin Vogel

Created on: November 07, 2008

LETTING GO OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES

My 18-year-old son has had insulin-dependent diabetes since age four.
He's found it tough growing up, having to define diabetes for strangers, dealing with the pitying or awkward reactions of others when he tells them what to do if he should ever lose consciousness due to a diabetic-related problem. When everyone else is having alcohol at parties, he is relegated to a diet beverage to keep his blood sugar under control. If he's offered a random sweet, he has to decline. Strenuous exercise like playing basketball or running can lead to low blood sugar reactions that make him feel disoriented, close to passing out. He must always carry a sugar source with him, just in case.

Diabetes has forced Brad to be responsible for what he eats and drinks; he must constantly monitor how he's feeling. He doesn't consider himself to have achieved any truly outstanding deeds in life, but he'll tell you that having diabetes has made him a unique person, unwelcome as that sometimes may be. Some people consider him an outsider or react peculiarly when they learn that he deals with multiple insulin injections and daily blood tests, while others couldn't care less and appreciate him for the person he isthat's how he's learned to separate real friends from the rest.
He aggressively collects funds for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's and other diseases, because he know only too well how it feels to long for a cure for a chronic illness.

People are amazed to hear that he hasn't missed a day of school since being hit by a car in first grade; diabetics are usually forced to deal with illness that makes their blood sugar shoot up to dangerous levels, sometimes requiring hospitalization or at least a cautionary stay at home. He's worked with my husband, me, and his diabetes team to ensure that his general health stays good, and while there are days when his glucose levels are inexplicably high or low, his doctor assures him that whatever he's doing, he should keep it up.

Brad decided a long time ago that he would overcome diabetes, but never let it overcome him. Going away to college will bring new challenges, both intellectually and physically, but thanks to dealing head-on with diabetes for all these years, he feels more than prepared to meet them all. He's taught me something I never thought I could learn-his independence and determination have given me, his sometimes smothering, overly-doting mother, the courage and strength to let him go.

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