Three Generations of Type 1 - From Mother to Daughter

How has diabetes touched me? How has diabetes touched my family? How has diabetes touched my mother, my father, my son, my daughter, my boyfriend, my friends, my cousins, my aunties and uncles? How has diabetes touched me?

I am so intimate with diabetes, that so often I forget it is there. I have such a close relationship with diabetes that I have been within touching distance of someone affected by it since my conception. Diabetes has so touched my life that I never thought having a syringe around the house was an odd thing. Diabetes is so engrained in who I am that it never even OCCURS to me to tell people I am diabetic. The truth comes out when they see my pump (pulled unceremoniously from my bra I’m sure), and were confused by my android hookup style I have going.

It occurred to me yesterday (all these realizations, my mind is full of Eureka! Moments) that with my daughter’s diagnosis, there are now three generations of Type 1 daughters in my family. My mom. Me. My daughter. That’s three generations, and I’m wondering how typical this is? There is an OBVIOUS hereditary factor going on with type 1 diabetes in my family. We don’t happen to have diabetes, we practically EXPECT to have diabetes. In fact, I do believe that type 1 overall in my family strikes the women and girls, not the men and boys. It’s okay though, because the men aren’t totally left out, they just get type 2 instead (Just when you think you dodged the bullet!).

My mom was diagnosed at age 11. I was diagnosed at age 13. My daughter was diagnosed at age 3. Wow. Three is just too young.

I wish I could be angry with diabetes, but that just doesn’t make any sense to me. I wish I could be bitter and unhappy with my association with this disease, but I just can’t. I don’t have the energy to be angry. Diabetes has always been there. Going down my family line, my Grandmother said that back in Norway there are gravestones from our ancestors that say on the tombstone “Died of the Wasting Away Disease.” Diabetes has ALWAYS been there. I’ve never known anything different.

Gracie will have an experience similar to mine as she will have to manage her disease throughout her life. Sandis will have an experience like my siblings did, just a little different because Gracie is so much younger than I was at diagnosis. You should hear their little mouths talk about “diabeedeees.” They work their little mouths and tongues and teeth around that word, and really they have no idea what it will mean in their lives.

Sandis asks me “When will I get diabeedeees?”
I say “Hopefully never honey.”
Sandis says “I hope I never have diabeedees and have to take shots Mom.”
I say “ Me too.”

Gracie tells me: “I don’t want diabeedeees.” (she follows this with a big HMMMPH, lip sticking out down to her toes and major attitude)
I respond: “Neither do I peanut, neither do I.”

We don’t have a choice. We are grudgingly making room for diabetes in our lives because if we don’t scoot over, diabetes will just sit ON TOP of us. And that sucks, really, trust me, it does.