Mom Wants A Diabetes Cure

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Eating Ice Cream In The Rain

Now that school has started and Brendon is no longer sheltered from life beyond our backyard, some issues have come up that have caused me to think of diabetes as being like eating ice cream in the rain.

You're eating a bowl of ice cream outdoors with not a care in the world and along comes a rain cloud. Now eating ice cream outside is fun. Unlike eating it indoors, you can get messy, letting the ice cream create a beard around your mouth dripping from your chin, more ice cream dripping down your arm and off your elbow if you happen to be eating it from a cone.

But that pesky rain cloud is sitting overhead and it squeezes out a load of rain that makes your ice cream a diluted puddle of crap. You can continue eating your ice cream since it's still technically edible, but it would taste like hell.

How can you prevent that from happening? Well, logically, get an umbrella, or sit on a porch...basically use anything that will provide shelter without completely enclosing you and sheltering you from the outdoors. There. Now you can sit outside while it's raining and still enjoy your ice cream.

Where is this metaphor going, you might be asking. Well, Brendon's dreams of being a first grader has included being able to ride the school bus and eat a hot lunch from the school's menu. The bus is no problem as it doesn't interfere with his diabetes. But, oh, do the school lunches ever interfere. Instead of letting the rain (diabetes) wash away his ice cream (eating a school lunch), the school nurse kindly spent her holiday weekend getting in touch with someone who deals with the school lunches and, together, they went through each meal and worked out the carb count. So now Brendon can get a hot lunch without the nurse or me worrying about what the heck to dose him for.

Another situation came up concerning playing at a friend's house. His friend's mother (our neighbor) called me saying that we have to work something out about Brendon coming over to play more often. She said when the kids come off the bus, most of them come to her house to play while Brendon looks on as he walks home. She said the other kids come and go as they please, but she feels responsible for Brendon and it seems like she's always telling him he can't come over because she can't always watch over him.

Instead of letting it rain on his ice cream once again, I told her that I would check him as he got off the bus, make any necessary adjustments with his insulin and/or snack to prevent any lows from occuring during the time he's at her house. This way, she won't feel like she has to watch over him constantly. I also told her that her son is always more than welcome to play at my house as well, so it wouldn't always be one sided.

Diabetes can put a real damper on fun times and carefree moments. But holding up that umbrella can be exhausting. The hardest lesson for Brendon to learn at his age is that when an umbrella isn't available, he won't be able to eat ice cream without it getting mucked up. Or that sometimes I'll avoid giving him a bowl of the good stuff because there is nothing available to shelter him. That's one of the injustices of having diabetes....always needing shelter to do the most benign things.

8 Comments:

  • I'm so glad that the school nurse and the other person could work out carb counts for the menu items! I'm sure it helps your son feel more like a regular kid if he can eat school food! I'm a teacher at a high school, and I even feel a bit liberated when I eat lunch at school because I feel like I'm the same as everyone else for a little while; I'm someone who doesn't have to weigh, measure, and bring from home everything I eat or drink. Of course, sometimes I get in trouble when I miscount my carbs or when I eat something out of my normal realm, but all in all, it's nice to just go and eat!

    Wonderful metaphor - you get an A++ from this English teacher :)

    By Blogger LaLa, at 9/06/2006 3:00 PM  

  • What a terrific metaphor, Shannon. I'm emailing your post to my mom right now - I'm sure it will resonate.

    By Blogger Kerri., at 9/06/2006 4:01 PM  

  • Great post Shannon!

    I think it is terrific of you to do all you do for him, and working to help him understand that sometimes the rain will get all in his ice cream.

    A tough lesson indeed - but one that will be learned one way or another. To be able to learn it with the wise & caring words of his great mom will prove to be a great benefit to him as he grows up.

    By Blogger Scott K. Johnson, at 9/06/2006 6:59 PM  

  • Thanks for the excellent grade, teach :)

    Kerri, I just hope that Brendon turns out to be as great a PWD as you are.

    Scott, thanks for saying that :) I just hope when he's older he can handle the tough times gracefully.

    By Blogger Shannon, at 9/07/2006 12:34 PM  

  • AH! I can finally post on here. I've tried a couple of times but blogger wouldn't let me (is it just me, or is blogger being a pain in the arse lately??).

    Anyhow, I really enjoyed this post, Shannon - it was a nice read, and I found myself sitting here nodding my head as I read it.

    I'm sure with you as a Mom, Brendon will be very consciencious about his Diabetes and will take good care of himself when the day comes.

    Let's hope those kids come over and play at your house sometimes, too :)

    By Blogger Jamie, at 9/07/2006 2:05 PM  

  • Rain will never spoil his parade, because he has a loving Mother, he knows the rain, and he knows his heart is covered. Aren't you the best flavor there is!

    You weave healing in your actions and share it generously with others!
    Three cheers for Umbrellas!

    By Blogger Tongue in Cheek Antiques, at 9/08/2006 3:45 AM  

  • You said it beautifully Shannon. I sometimes try to convince myself that Riley can do whatever he wants like every other kid, only to have the rain come along and ruin his ice cream.

    It sucks. Thas's all I can say about it. You articulate it better me.

    By Blogger Penny Ratzlaff, at 9/08/2006 8:41 AM  

  • Jamie, thanks :) I don't know if I want those kids playing at my house though....It's nice to have one less kid at my house, lol.

    Corey, thank you for your kind words :)

    Penny, I hear you. It definitely sucks when we aren't able to make things normal for them as hard as we try.

    By Blogger Shannon, at 9/08/2006 9:43 AM  

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