How are you enjoying this summer heat wave? We just came back from my husband's twenty year class reunion and I am feeling a bit sentimental, reminded of why we moved from Arizona to Missouri. Sometimes sharing our stories helps us connect with others and I hope ours will share light and hope for anyone struggling.
Our son Wyatt was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was four. Prior to that, we had a successful photography business and so many dreams we were building. I never thought having a child diagnosed with an autoimmune disease would change our lives so much, but I have to admit, it completely ROCKED our world.
Today I wanted to write to inspire and encourage anyone who is going through a struggle with their health. I know at times, it can seem like there is no clear path and no light in sight. I want to tell you that you will find peace when you embrace YOUR reality. The sooner you embrace and come to terms with the fact that whatever life you dreamed for yourself is not possible, the sooner you can enjoy what actually IS.
I am sharing today because it has taken me seven years to come to terms with what happened to my son. It has only been recently that I have forgiven myself, bearing the guilt of him getting diagnosed all these years. There was no grounds for me taking this on, however, as a mother, I felt like if I could have only eaten maybe differently or slept more or stressed less, maybe this genetic autoimmune disease wouldn't have happened to MY son. (Yes, it was absolutely ridiculous for me to have this mindset and beat myself up that my son's pancreas stopped working, but my heart was broken and I am sure the years of sleepless nights monitoring his high and low blood sugar levels contributed to my depression and frustrations).
Type 1 Diabetes is a very misunderstood autoimmune disease. It cannot be cured only through diet and exercise. With children, it is extremely complicated because their necessary insulin doses change as they grow. Although they can look perfectly healthy on the outside, on the inside, their brain and organs are affected by low and high blood sugars. We try to keep a very tight range with our son to avoid this, but it is a challenge to keep him in the 80-120 range. It is constant, minute by minute, day by day, night after night. He will never grow out of it, this is his new reality, and it is our job to support, love and help him with it. It is truly a family disease and life changing condition.
Frustrated because of the lack of quality care and wanting to get our son on a pump, rather than shots, after two years, my husband and I decided to move to another state. We really considered California since Stanford has amazing doctors and we were involved with studies there for two years, but decided to move near St. Louis where the first A1C test was invented and there was still access to clinical studies and trials to work toward a cure.
I will never forget all of the support, love, and encouragement we had from family and friends and am so thankful for so many people who showed such love and generosity to our family when we were emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially devastated by our son's diagnosis. Wyatt is 11 years old now and works really hard to do as much as he can, but we still help him with his pump and CGM site changes, sick days, and estimating carbs. We decided to home school because he was sick at least 2-3 days a week when he attended public school and managing his blood sugar was a nightmare, even when the school hired an assistant.
Over the last seven years, we have learned so much. We gladly share information as Parent Type 1 Educators and will never stop working toward a cure.
I look forward to sharing more resources, tips, ideas, and stories with you as part of our adventures embracing OUR new reality. I really believe that we are given challenges so we can be tested and learn from experiences. Continuing to grow and wrap my head around this life I never pictured for myself, I hope our story will inspire and encourage others to see it is possible to THRIVE, not just SURVIVE whatever life throws your way. It has been interesting seeing God's hand in all of this and I am thankful I am able to teach my children and use all of my background, training, and experience in education to help him and others, who are interested in project and thematic based learning as well. I never would have thought all of this would be leading this into an exciting new business we are starting, but being able to work with our family and embrace this 24-7 together life has been the biggest unforeseen blessing of all. Who knows, maybe God's plan will turn out better for you than anything you ever dreamed! Embrace YOUR Reality and see what happens! :)
Lifting your struggle up in prayer,
Trina Licavoli Gunzel
www.trinagunzel.com
Twitter: @TGunzelTrina
Facebook: Trina Licavoli Gunzel
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Trina, I am forwarding this to my granddaughters mom and dad (my son). She was 6 when she was diagnosed. It has been quite a journey for all of them too... Now her parents are divorced, but co-parenting and each sharing responsibility for helping her keep her numbers down. thank you for educating us. Miss you.
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