Until it happens

[edenseffort]

Eden doesn't often speak openly about her Type 1 Diabetes.

It is hard to be thought of as different - especially as a pre-teen

• I completely understand why she may want to test her blood sugar under a desk sometimes to not draw attention to herself
• I understand why she doesn’t want to have to check in with her mother daily
• I understand why she is always in such a hurry so she isn’t the only one late for class

We have been trying to tell her recently to EMBRACE

the few good things that come with D

that other kids aren’t able to do at school

She CAN use her phone at school - instead of needing to hurry and put it away - embrace it!

She CAN eat if/when she needs to - instead of hiding it or worse - not eating - embrace it!

It might not be much - but we need to try to find the positives where we can.

image found on Pinterest

A good portion of the time - T1D sucks - totally sucks…

Eden needs to see these things that are “different” as positives

and be willing to stand her ground for her safety and well being.

Our JDRF Walk to Cure Team this year is Team BE -

our slogan -

BE BRAVE

BE STRONG

BE PROUD

BEAT DIABETES

Eden has already proven time and time again how brave and strong she is.

She is amazing and enables ME to be braver and stronger than I ever thought possible.

image found on Pinterest

The upcoming years are going to be some of the toughest and most challenging as she figures out who she is and how she fits into the world around her. She has to WANT to be the best version of herself she can be and D is a HUGE part of that.

T1D cannot be ignored

- it will not go away -

and it will only limit her if she lets it.

More than anything I want Eden to be proud of who she is and recognize why she is so amazing. T1D doesn’t define her but will shape her person and her future - depending on how we handle this diagnosis together as a family.

I am PROUD to be an advocate for Eden and Type 1 Diabetics everywhere.

Eden recently got an Instagram account and put a link to my Blog on it as a part of her description.

Yesterday she signed up to follow my Blog via email.

Both of these things make my heart fill with pride..

Pride in Eden that she wants to share our story with her peers.

Pride in myself for putting myself out there and sticking with it

I’m also counting this as a big step in Eden

being PROUD of her Type 1 Diabetes.

We have covered the BRAVE, STRONG and PROUD part of our slogan..

Next - we are ready to BEAT DIABETES …

The world needs to understand - WE NEED A CURE - so I am going to keep shouting and advocating and doing my part until it happens.

http://edenseffort.wordpress.com

[Tamra1]

I was diagnosed at age 9. I fully understand the feelings Eden is facing daily at her delicate age. Embarrassment, frustration, not fitting in, fear. It is very difficult to be a child with type I. You instinctively want to hide it, run away from it, ignore it.

But it is, and always will be, there. When I learned to embrace it and not hide it, I learned a valuable lesson: Most other kids didn't care, if anything, they were intrigued and curious. Yes, there were very few who treated me badly, but I simply ignored them and kept them at a distance.

It's not easy, it never will be. But Eden has a wonderful support system, and being diabetic is a great tool to strengthen her self-esteem. She needs only to learn to embrace it, make it a positive part of who she is, and be it's master, not let it be hers.

Good luck to you Eden! And if she ever needs to talk to someone who's lived it first hand, Myself and so many others here on TuDiabetes are more than willing to help.