For those who try to "help"

If you knew what it was like, you wouldn't say the things you say. You wouldn't talk about cures that are out there and make it seem like the rest of us are fools for not having tried them or known about them already. If you knew what it was like, you would not speak of magic juices and hemp....raw food diets or carb free diets...moss that grows in far off places and the glorious cinnamon. If you knew what it was like, you would realize that none of these things will make a pancreas magically and miraculously begin to produce insulin on its own again. If you knew what it was like, you wouldn't refer to insulin as "medicine" or speak about ways to be able to give her less insulin...as if it's a bad thing...a thing that shouldn't be given in the first place. If you knew what it was like, you wouldn't post these things online for all to see...especially those new to this D life...those that are the most vulnerable...the most impressionable...the most naive. You wouldn't try to convince them that if only they were to follow your advice, that their child would be healed...saved....cured.

However, I know that you don't know what it's like. I know that you might mean well with your advice and your suggestions. I know that you believe you are only trying to help. I know that it might make you sad or sympathetic to what we endure on a daily basis. I know that our posts of highs and lows and struggles might make you uncomfortable...or upset. I know that you truly believe in your heart that you are helping us fix the situation or make our lives easier. I know that some of you are out for making a buck. Some of you are reaching for that almighty dollar and you don't care who you step over on the way. I know that some of you prey on the naive...the new...the easily influenced...because you know that it is a sure thing and it will be a piece of cake to take advantage of them. I know that some of you are just off the wall....and that's ok too....we are all a little off the wall in our own way.

I know these things because we are almost five years into this life with D. I know there is no cure. I know that none of the things that you speak of are true. I know that I could feed my daughter nothing but cinnamon for the rest of her life...and she would still have type 1 diabetes. I know that I could pour your magic juice down her throat...and the only thing that would happen is her blood sugar would rise unless I gave her insulin to cover it.....because there is sugar in juice...all juice...even your magic juice. I know that when I inject or bolus my daughter with insulin, I am merely doing the job for her pancreas...I am replacing what her body SHOULD be able to do on it's own...but no longer can. I know that no matter if I have to inject or bolus her with .05 of a unit or 5.0 units of insulin....it's not going to harm her or be better or worse for her body....I am simply putting insulin into her body because that is the amount she needs to help her system digest the food she just ate...and it is the same amount of insulin her pancreas would produce on it's own if it still could.

I know these things because I have years of experience under my belt. I'm not new. I'm not naive. I'm not vulnerable or easily influenced. I have seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows when it comes to this life. I have experienced nightmares that I can not awaken from...because they are our reality. I have seen incredible and honest miracles as well. REAL miracles...miracles like seeing my child accomplish her goals, dreams, and desires. I have seen her reach beyond the stars and never let anything stand in her way. I have seen her do these things WITH diabetes. I have seen miracles in her eyes.

So, please...before you decide to share your discoveries...your cures...your solutions to our "problems", pause for a second...take a deep breath...and think about it first. Think about if it will truly be beneficial. Remember that if there was a solution to our "problems"....we, as parents, probably would have already tried it by now...or at the very least, researched it to the extreme...probably late at night while we are waiting to check our child's blood sugar. Remember that we love our kids more than any one else on the planet...and if there was a cure or a solution...we would be all over it. None of us like sticking needles in our kids...so if it was as simple as only feeding them raw carrots, don't you think we would have done it by now?

Thanks for listening. Thanks for trying to help. Thanks for caring. My suggestion for the future if you are still wanting to help though...is to just give us a hug, tell us we are doing a kickass job, offer to learn how to take care of our child's diabetes and actually do it, offer to watch our child for a couple hours after you have learned...jus so we can have a nap, or even just listen....just listen to our struggles and be a shoulder to lean on when we need it most.