Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Support

Day 3 of diabetes blog week

I would have to say that my biggest supporter and help with diabetes is my husband. We are in this together. We both love our kids more than anyone ever could, so it only makes sense that we need to support each other to make every day work. I guess it's just daily life so I sometimes take for granted how well we balance each other out.
I am by far the more emotional one of the couple. My husband ( K ) is very centered and level headed all the time. He is not easily shaken where I am sometimes an anxious mess of worry. Often the answer or the comment that I need is in the form of one of his famous "one liners." Somehow in very few words he knows how to make things clear in my head. Making a concern or a problem seem very manageable. On the other side, I am the planner of the family and the one who has thought of the possible problems so we can take care of things ahead of time. One thing K is not, is a planner!
When S was diagnosed I had a very difficult time emotionally ( I doubt that is any different for any of you moms out there). I know my husband was heartbroken as well, but he held everyone together for those first few weeks.  For some reason in the first weeks of her diagnosis all ability to do mathematical calculation was erased from my overwhelmed, over emotional, over tired brain. When trying to figure out an insulin dose I would not trust myself and would call K at work. I would explain the scenario, he would calculate in his head, and spit an answer out at me. In a short time I learned that I actually hadn't lost all math ability and could figure out the proper amount of insulin. This is a very good thing because, did I mention,  I teach math??!!!! All in all K is my balance, when I am crazed he is calm and it all works. I am a lucky lady!
We are both S's support system. From the start we agreed that we could never let diabetes stop her from doing anything. We work hard everyday at organizing our lives to be sure that she can safely participate in the things she enjoys. Most things require that one of us be present, so we make that happen. Between both having jobs and having two kids this is sometimes a challenge, but so far so good. Soon H will be old enough to participate in his own activities and our lives will be even more of a juggling act, but we will take that as it comes.
I can't end this post without mentioning the other people in my life who give my family and I so much love and support. I don't know what I would do without my best friend who always "gets" me, and will talk to me for hours about anything. She is S's Godmother and I couldn't have chosen a better person to help look after one my two most prized possessions. My parents, my in -laws, and our family and close friends help us almost daily in some way. Also, this new community of bloggers that are so supportive and helpful. They say it takes a village to raise a child and I've got a really great village for my two.
So once again I realize that in a strange way the curse of diabetes has blessed me. Take nothing and no one for granted.
Yvette

4 comments:

connie said...

Beautifully said, Yvette.

I am so glad the you have a great "village" helping you and your family :)

Sometimes it does take a village to raise a child and it always helps to have people in that village who completely understand what life with D is like.

Thanks for sharing!

Meri said...

Nice to meet ya! I love love love the picture at the top of your blog...it is so relaxing! It reminds me of the coast where we live in Northern California.

I read back a little...and just between you and me...becuase my boys can NEVER know, I HATE Halloween too! And yep, Medronic has already come out with its new pump and it is pretty awesome. It works much better with the cgm and will even alarm when it "predicts" a low. AND it does have the smaller dosing like animas. It is such a tough decision...and if I had to choose right now, I think it would take a lot of soul searching. Not an easy choice, and a very personal one at that. You will choose right for your little girl. :)

Wendy said...

Beautiful post! It's a joy to share this village with you!

Unknown said...

LOL...on the "math teacher" comment after mentioning having difficulty right after dx...that is such a horrible and stressful time. I can totally relate to you and your husbands way of dealing with things emotionally...sounds exactly like me and mine. I had such a rough time in the beginning too and relied heavily on Dave to be the "strong" one...b/c I was MELTING DOWN.

I love having you as a support as well...so glad we have met...and yes, it has been stinkin' cold here in VT the last several days!!! UGH.