A 7 year old's routine, 8-10 times a day.
I've read many a blog with statistics about how many injections have been given, how many finger pokes have happened...even the extreme cost of managing diabetes. So, here's our stab at it...just the lancing issue...
Since her diagnosis at age 22 months, we estimate that C has had approximately 21,350 finger pokes, give or take a few hundred. (Wow...seeing that number in print turns my stomach.) You can't tell by the picture, but her littlle fingers are speckled with lancet wounds. We continually tell her to rotate fingers and use the sides, but she is a creature of habit and has her favorite (ug!). When it is most apparent is after bathing or swimming. The holes, literally open up, and look so huge on her little fingers.
Where am I going with this?? Pity? Hardly. Awareness? Yes. We need a cure. This should not be the daily routine of a 2nd grader...or anyone, for that matter. It's tiring. Sometimes all-consuming. And, it hurts. I've done it to my own fingers. C will tell you that it's just a pinch. She doesn't flinch, not even in her sleep. She may have built up a tolerance for it. But, it does hurt.
WDD is coming. (World Diabetes Day) November 14th. The diabetes community is buzzing about awareness campaigns. And so my mind is wandering with thoughts of what we can do to raise it up a notch. Maybe simply sharing what exactly goes into "managing" this disease can help just a tiny bit.
Go to the World Diabetes Day website and learn more about this global campaign.
(Off the subject, sidenote: big news over at sixuntilme.com today...shout out to Kerri...yay!!!)
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I sat down once and did Tristan's statistic too... it's really depressing! His fingers are also all messed up with little holes.
ReplyDeleteWe do need a cure. Nobody should have to live with this. I hope for a cure every day. I have to believe that there will find a cure soon. I can't imagine Tristan living with this for the rest of his life!
It's swimming and sports that bring out the "holes" on my son's fingers. He's never complained about testing even though it's 8-10x a day. From day one, his teachers were amazed (at 5 y/o) how he took on that part of the management. It's the white "holes" after swimming and when he takes off a batting glove,etc. that cause us both to take an extra pause and think about what this disease is doing to his body. But he doesn't want pity either. Just a cure!
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