Why Am I Doing This?

Why am I blogging and why would you care?  I am a mother of 4.  Type 1 Diabetes has lived in our house for nearly 12 years.  It came as a huge shock the first time around when our oldest daughter, Tylie, was diagnosed.  She was 4 1/2 years old.  We had no history in our family and then boom- there it was!  And along with it came the comments like, "How can you possibly give your child SHOTS?  EVERYDAY?" "Does it run in your family?" and my personal favorite, "That is why we NEVER give our children fruit snacks!"  A year and a half later, just when we thought we were getting good at this Diabetes thing, daughter number 2- Taya- also age 4 1/2, was diagnosed with T1.  Well,  we rolled with it and so did they.  We breathed a sigh of relief when daughter number 3- Tessa and son number 1- TJ- made it passed the fateful 4.5 without any problems.  However, when TJ was 5 1/2 that changed.  The words Type 1 Diabetes are not any less heart wrenching the 3rd time around.  Six months later, he was also diagnosed with Celiac.  Our smart Diabetes Educator told us when Tylie was diagnosed that "above all else they are kids first."   So we adopted that  motto and  we balance T1 appointments, fingerpokes, and gluten free eating with sports like hockey, volleyball, baseball, and soccer.  Their dad is a coach so aside from their own activities, they spend hours in ice arenas and at baseball fields.  And we try to not forget our Taylor, the kid who her sisters are convinced was left in the backyard by aliens since she escaped the need for  multiple daily fingerpokes.  

So, with this first entry, I just wanted to give you a brief intro to our crazy family and tell you my hope for this blog.  Starting a blog has been in the back of my head for a while now.  I have always loved to write.   I just wasn't sure how to start or what I had to share.  Recently, the daughter of a good friend of our family -coincidentally age 4.5- was diagnosed with T1.  As I have been talking to her and reliving our experiences, ideas started to form.  Maybe I do have something to say.  Then she said to me- "You should start a blog.  There is not a lot out there for T1 families."  She followed it up by sending me the title you see for my page.  So, here goes.  I changed the kids names to protect their privacy, but if you know our family, you will know who I'm talking about.  I don't for a minute think I have all the answers for you.  However, I would never want anyone to take this journey alone so at the very least, maybe this will give you support you can't always find.   I would also like to give you hope- so that you know other people have been there and somehow found a new normal and then discovered normal wasn't normal after all!  I welcome you to take this journey with us- it might make you laugh or it might make you cry- we will see how it goes.