November is National Diabetes Month

November is National Diabetes Month and this is in response to Etsybloggers question: Have you ever been touched by Diabetes?

Four years ago, my grandaughter Cassidy, at the age of two, was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. Never knowing anything about it or the warning symptons, I was totally shocked. I had been babysitting her at my house and she was especially cranky and tired and hungry and her diaper was constantly full. I was scared she was sick with something but never imagined Diabetes. When my daughter took her to the pediatrician he knew immediately and sent them to the emergency room. Her sugar level was up over 600, which is pretty high for a two year old.

We knew our lives were changed forever with this news and it was heartbreaking for a two year old to have to deal with this, but this was not the first time a major illness had struck the babies of the family. My nephew was born with congenital heart disease, diagnosed as an infant, and after 25 years of living with a pacemaker and other problems, he passed away. My son was born at 28 weeks because I had severe preeclampsia and he has cerebral palsey in his legs and tone in his arms and legs. He weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. at birth. He is 13 now, very mature and witty and an all around great kid and you would never know he ever had anything wrong.

So that is three babies in our family with some major afflictions. My nephew was a very charming, witty and handsome boy (my son reminds me of him) and he touched many many lives with his personality and who he was. My son is very mature for his age and is constantly teaching my husband and I things we probably should already know! My granddaughter is 6 now, wears a pump and is doing everything a six year old first grader should be doing. She is very smart, reads whole books without help and just played Farmer Mack Nugget in the Night Before Thanksgiving play at her school.

The two of us grandmas had to learn how to care for Cassidy and are currently the only two that can watch her because of that. First we had to learn how to calculate and then administer with a needle, the insulin for Cassidy. It was not fun injecting a 5" needle into the arm or leg of your sweet little granddaughter! Now the pump does it all and although it is scary and I still don't know everything I need to know about it, she can visit and stay overnight and eat whatever she wants (which is of course all the wrong things at NaNa's house!).

The JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) is constantly doing research and are currently researching an artificial pancreas. Here is the link to their website if you want to know more....
http://takeaction.jdrf.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=50284.0&dlv_id=36404

My daughter and her husband participate in the local walk for diabetes every May which helps the research through donations.

I'm not sure why those closest to me, and especially the babies, have been afflicted so, but the Lord has helped me through all this because I know He has His hand on it all and He is in control of it all. The reasons don't matter right now....sometimes he allows these things so that we draw closer to His care and protection...........