The Hardest Day

Just a reminder that the Eastern Iowa JDRF Walk for the Cure in Cedar Rapids is next Saturday. You still have a chance to donate to team Pump Princess and can do so by clicking on the link located on the right of the page. We appreciate all donations and will never be able to thank each and every one of you enough.

This weekend was great. We decided to go and support the Cedar Valley JDRF Walk for the Cure in Waterloo on Saturday morning. Our family put on our Pump Princess shirts from last year and headed to Crossroads Mall to offer support to the diabetic families in that area.

We had a fantastic time! It was nice to just go and really enjoy all of the activities that are part of the walk. We didn't have to worry about wrangling our team up and make sure everyone was in the right place. It was just us four and we had fun. We also got excited for our walk this weekend. I got to meet 2 incredible women that are determined to find a cure for diabetes.

Betsy is someone who has dealt with diabetes for a majority of her life. She is determined to really advocate and raise awareness in the Cedar Valley area. Sam is the mother of a diabetic young man and really has a fantastic vision of what could be in the Cedar Valley area. With these 2 ladies leading the charge, I sense big things to come in the Cedar Valley area.

Sam asked our family if we would come to Cedar Falls on Sunday and participate in a project that she was doing for the members of Congress. We, of course, agreed to help, so we headed to Cedar Falls on Sunday. We taped a video, did an interview and sat for a photo shoot. Sam is constructing a book that will include stories and pictures of those that deal with Type 1 diabetes in the Eastern Iowa area. Great idea! We had fun with the whole process, but I wanted to talk about one part of the day that has left me in deep thought this evening.

I was asked during the interview, "What has been the hardest day with type 1 diabetes so far?"

My answer was as follows: "The hardest day of type 1 diabetes is always tomorrow. As a type 1 diabetic myself, I know that getting through a day with normal blood sugars is considered a victory for the day. However, diabetes doesn't sleep, so even though I lay down and fall asleep at night, I know that I will have to wake up and fight the same battle tomorrow, and it never gets easier. As a parent of a type 1 diabetic six year old, I claim victory when we can send our daughter to bed with normal blood sugars, but know that those blood sugars can change in the middle of the night. So we have to wake up and check her blood sugars in the middle of the night. So the days run together, followed by the weeks running together. We don't consider Micheala having a hard day, but rather a hard life, because it never gets easier and it never stops."

I am reminded of this constant cycle of blood sugar testing as I sit here in my living room tonight. Our end tables are decorated with used test strips and empty test strip bottles. I also see an empty juice box that was drank this morning due to waking up with a low blood sugar (65). I see Micheala's diabetic bag laying next to the couch. I see pictures hung on our wall from different JDRF photo shoots. I see a couple pump pouches laying on the back of the couch because they were just washed. I have a notebook sitting next to me with a "to do" list that needs to be completed prior to Saturday's walk. We have a Ride to Cure medal hanging in our living room, that was a gift to Micheala from her rider this year in LaCrosse. Our house is cluttered with different JDRF buttons, back packs, balloons and posters. All of this serves as a reminder of who we are, but more importantly, what we are trying to accomplish.

No matter how hard we try, or even if it was possible, we don't get a day off from diabetes. Every day is hard.

Until a cure is found, Heather will continue to experience interrupted nights of sleep, Dylanne will continue to question if we love her as much as Micheala, Heather and I will always worry and Micheala will always battle this disease. The hardest day is always tomorrow, until tomorrow presents a cure.

What would a cure mean for our family? I don't think I need to answer that because, by now, every one knows. I would like to ask all of you to ask yourself that question, "What would a cure for juvenile diabetes mean for you?" Now, are you willing to take the action to make a cure possible?