My youngest daughter Ally was 4 years old when I noticed she was extremely thirsty and wetting the bed at night. After a week I took her to the doctor which is when they did the glucose test and said that Ally had glucose in her urine and she had juvenile diabetes.
As a single parent of three children there have been many struggles and as you know insulin, test strips and doctors appointments can cost a pretty penny but I worked hard and learned to get by. Ally will be 18 in November and two years ago her sister was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Having two children now with diabetes is tough, you learn to deal with it and feel blessed that its nothing terminal and something that can be maintained. There have been many hospital trips and a few admissions but you keep faith and try and understand how your children feel and what you can do for them. I find that most people don't understand diabetes and tend to judge. You don't understand unless your in that position.
Ally has an insulin pump and does very well with it while her sister Jorden, who is now 20 is newly diagnosed and using the insulin pen. Ally just graduated from high school and will be continuing her education at a community college close by and is studying to be a nurse practitioner in the Diabetes field so that she can assist children and give back to the community. Juvenile Diabetes is a very high maintenance disease and there is not a day that goes by where I wish that I could trade places with my two beautiful girls. I have faith that in their lifetime we will find a cure.
santa clara, CA
