My Personal Experience As A Mother Of A Diabetic Child
Being a parent of a child with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes can be overwhelming at times. When my son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two years ago, I remember the emotional roller coaster I was experiencing everyday. In the beginning, I was being flooded with a wealth of information. I was trying to listen and comprehend everything the doctors, nurses, and nutritionists were giving me throughout his hospital stay and then the numerous office visits that followed. I was in tears because I didn’t know how I was going to learn all of the diabetes information to properly take care of my son. Well, I will let you in on a little secret. I didn’t learn everything in that short amount of time. Two years later and I am still learning new information.
One thing that I think is important is to stay up to date on current diabetes research, treatment options, and trends that may eventually affect the care of the child. In the beginning, to adjust to the changes, I joined support groups and forums. This was very helpful because I got great tips and advice from other parents that were in similar situations as me. There are hundreds of diabetes websites, but one that I visisted almost daily was dLife.
dLife is the leading online resource for diabetes. There is plenty of information on Diabetic Recipes and Healthy Eating. There are over 8,500 diabetes-friendly recipes you can search through and there is a recipe of the day displayed with the nutritional value listed and amount of time for preparation and cooking. This is very helpful because in the beginning you are trying to adjust to a new way of preparing meals for the child. When given the nutritional value it helps to determine the carbohydrate content, which is an important component to monitor for my son’s diabetes diet.You also can join the Diabetes Community and Forums which offers support for caregivers of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The site also has current Diabetes News and Research. I especially like that the new addition called ‘blogabetes’, which is an informative diabetes conversation from various members sharing their experiences. Lastly, there is a Q & A section where you can ask an expert on a diabetes related category.
My advice to a parent with a child that has been newly diagnosed is to determine what resources are available to help you better manage the disease. Your health care providers are a good source of information, but remember that you can always do your own research through the internet, go to a local library and do a search, subscribe to diabetes newsletters and magazines, join support groups, and even ask friends and co-workers if they know any resources available. Diabetes affects people of all ages and races. There have been great advances in diabetes research and hopefully we will see a cure for diabetes in the near future.
