“Hey, Mom, guess what?”

“What?”

“My friend, Steve, was really jerking my chain today?”

“Honey, you shouldn’t say that. Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“Well…it means…(explain, explain, explain).”

“No, mom. He was sitting behind me in class pulling on my diabetes chain.”

Oops!

My eldest son just went to the Barton Center for Diabetes Education - a camp for diabetic children located in North Oxford, MA. We sent him there with his brother (a non-diabetic) for a special weekend camp they were having called Wacky Weekend. We thought it would be a great opportunity for him to be with other diabetic kids and experience what it would be like to be at a stay away camp. Oh yeah, and it was also an opportunity for Mom and Dad to get away for a belated anniversary weekend *wink*wink*.

So, of course when we picked the kids up on Sunday, I couldn’t wait to hear all about it. First they told us about the games they played, the songs they sang, but the best part was what my son said next…

The other night I was giving my son his insulin shot and this particular night he decided he wanted the shot in his upper thigh. No big thing. He usually just drops his pants, we do the shot, and then go about our business. Well, this particular night we were in the living room and I was sitting on the couch. I gave him his shot and as he stood up and was hoisting up his pants his younger brother entered the room. My eldest was just zipping up his fly when he coyly said, “Nope. Nothing going on here.” My youngest didn’t get the reference, but I thought it was hilarious. Totally inappropriate, but hilarious.

Having a child with diabetes is a relatively new thing for us. Our son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year at the age of 12. It was quite the shock, but not totally surprising since it runs in both my husband and my families. We’ve learned a lot along the way, but the one thing that always throws us off is when he gets sick. And I don’t mean, flu or stomach bug, things you think would really throw off his blood sugar. I’m talking about the common cold. His numbers are all over the place. His normal range should be between 70 and 180. One day he had a 67 at lunchtime and 300 at dinner. As a mother, it makes you wonder just what’s going on in that little body of his and how much damage is being done to his internal organs. Basically, it just makes your heart ache. But…we’re all in this together and we will continue to fight the fight to keep him as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

OK, so I thought I would stretch my comfort zone a little today. I decided to follow a site about diabetes, since my son has Type 1 diabetes, and then the next thing you know, I have six new diabetes organizations following ME. I gotta admit, it felt a little creepy to find out I’m being followed by strangers. And, I’m pretty sure they’re not following me because they think I’m so totally awesome. I think they’re just waiting for me to hit the ol’ “follow” button to start stalking, uh, I mean following them. Ahhhhh, so this is how social marketing works? Now I get it. Not sure if I like it, but I get it.