Thankful...

March 8, 2010 the storm of type one diabetes came blowing in to my world and knocked me on my butt.  There have been times over the past eight and a half months that I thought that storm was going to swallow me whole.  As I have watched my little girl have to deal with so much stuff her little mind and body should not have to go through, I have grieved.  I have grieved the loss of her perfect health and who she used to be, I have grieved the old carefree world that used to exist inside of our home.  I have also learned that in the darkness there are so many blessings.  Today I want to focus on those blessings. 

In the 1920s Dr. Fredrick Banting discovered insulin.  Insulin is what keeps my baby alive and well.  This is a blessing beyond words.  When I get to Heaven he is one of the first people I am going to look for and thank for all he did while he walked this earth.

The nurses in the ER at Legacy and the bear they gave Bekah were another incredible blessing.  They had amazing bedside manner and epitomized what it is to be a care taker.  They helped us transition from the numbness that ensued with the doctors words to the reality of taking and ambulance to the PICU in Portland.

The PICU nurse that we had was in my book a saint.  I'm pretty sure she was an angel in disguise.  I can't say enough good about her and the blessing that she was and continues to be in our lives as I think of her often when I go in to check Bekah's BG in the middle of the night and thank God for giving her the wisdom to keep our baby alive.

My sisters have stepped up in more ways than I can count.  They have been my rock.  We are all three closer now than we have eve been.  They have always been blessings in my life but I think I could make an endless list now of the many ways they have blessed me in the past 8 months.

There was another darkness that happened in the midst of the darkness we went though at Bekah's dx.  Our church basically turned their backs on us.  We asked for help and none came.  I had Bekah in the hospital, my husband with vertigo so bad he had to be taken out in a wheelchair, the ambulance at my son's school because he had chest pains etc.  Once home from the hospital I asked a team to come in a pray over our house (I had been a part of the prayer team for years) and no one came.  The blessing in that was that God showed me in those moments that although people will fail you time and time again that He NEVER will.  He was my strength and my peace and the only reason I stayed sane through it all.

My friend Bonnie and her daughter E reached out from day one.  E was dx with T1 at the age of 14 months and is now 7.  Bonnie has been through it all  and has been such a great encourager and friend through the rough winds.  She is a huge blessing in my life!  E has helped Bekah feel "normal" and be ok with D.  She has been a great friend to Bekah and the girls have so much fun together. 


About a month after Bekah's dx I found the DOC.  So many of you have brought me up and helped me navigate through the storm.  you have encouraged and loved on me and that is one of the biggest and best blessings that have come from D. 

In August, we discovered what pumping insulin was like.  It has given Bekah more freedom to be a kid and enjoy things that other kids enjoy still giving her glycemic control and in many cases better than shots ever did.  I love that it comes in pink and love the remote feature. Animas Corp you are another blessing that we have found along our journey!

Have I told you that Bekah has an amazing teacher?  She does.  Mrs. M is one of the biggest blessings that I have come across.  She takes care of my little girl as if she were her own.  She communicates very well with me either by texting or calling me with numbers that are concerning and she seems to just know when a few more carbs are needed to keep Bekah's BG up.  She is a direct answer to prayer.  (she also prays for her students)

The secretary at the school helps with Bekah as well and is a very kind carinf person that does a great job.
 That is a blessing!

Bekah's endo team is also an amazing blessing!  They never talk down to us and are there to encourage and help us do our best at taking care of our daughter.  The CDE that we see is also a T1 and just a lovely person.  She is kind and full of positive energy.  I always leave feel great about how Bekah and I are doing at taking care of D when we leave her office.  Miss H you are a blessing in our lives as well!

I could go on but I will stop there for now.  D has changed us, our family is tighter and we don't take things for granted that we used to.  I am thankful for the many things that God has brought into our lives and blessed us with as a result of fairing the storm of D.