Hi guys, tonight I wrote a post on my blog about my non T1 and how all of this affects him.
But, I am curious how all of your children without diabetes handle it all too?
How do you handle the family’s needs and emotions with such an ever present elephant in your living room?
This is such an excellent question that I think about often as well. When my daughter was diagnosed, she had just turned 4yrs old. Her younger sister was only just over 1 yr old at the time so I just assumed that it would not affect her too much once we got home from the hospital. We stayed in the hospital for a while because Jaimee was not allowing me to give her insulin willingly so the nurses told her that in order for her to be able to go home, she had to cooperate for her needles. When we got home, she went right back to screaming whenever she saw me coming with her insulin in syringe. I would actually have to sit on her to get her to stay still. It was awful. Whenever we went through this her sister would climb on my back and start pounding her fists on my back and pulling my hair! It was quite a scene! So from day 1.....yes.....it affected her sister.
Jessica, my youngest daughter, has always been very tough. She doesn't often talk about her feelings and accepts Jaimee's diabetes as it is all they have ever really known.
Jaimee is now 17 yrs old and Jessica is 14 yrs old. Jessica has seen her sister go through all of the high's and low's, a seizure in the middle of the night being taken out on a stretcher, being so low she was making no sense! She has been there to help her sister...and to stand back and quietly watch in fear! She has been the one to step back while her sister gets all of the attention during learning curves and transitions but she bearly says a word or complains. If I wasn't an attentive mom, I would probably miss it but I ask her how she feels sometimes and she shares her feelings with me.
After Jaimee's transition to the pump, I realized I had hardly paid attention to Jessica all week! I was so focused on the diabetes. I came to Jess at the end of the week and suggested we have a day for just her and I to go for lunch and shop and do whatever she wanted. She just looked at me and cried and I knew she needed that! So.....the answer to the question is......yes, diabetes affects siblings, even if you think things are fine and running smoothly, it affects them and I have always tried to be attuned to this but we are all just human and trying to be the best moms and dads we can be. Sometimes we do the right thing and sometimes we miss the boat but all we can do is show them how much we love them and how much they matter to us everyday!
i am a type 1 but developed this in my thirties and
i grew up with an older brother and father who are both type1. i know my uncle
resented my sad for all the attention he got especially
in 1941 when he was dx at age 1. this put a strain on their
relationship to this day.
however for me it did not bother me that my brother got
all the attention since at that time all i thought about
was thank goodness it was not me taking shots and spending
weeks at a time in the hospital
so while i missed my parents since they were gone a lo
and my mom was busy with my brother it was okay
with me. As well since my dad was diabetic and my parents
had experience the transition may have bern smoother
Now my son has been a type 1 for the last two years since age 8
and to be honest we dont know what we would have
done if we had another child as a mother i find it
very time consuming and stressful. So hats off to my
dear mom whi just passes away for managing my brother
and two other children at the same time so well
good luck to all the moms
jodi
My youngest daughter was diagnosed a year and a half ago, but the transition was not easy for my oldest daughter, who is not diabetic. She is such a soft-hearted girl who is kind and caring and too willingly takes the back-seat since her sister’s diagnosis. I try to make time for her, one-on-one, but she is going on thirteen and hanging with her friends is a priority for her now. Every now and then, she breaks down, and I spend time cuddling and talking to her. This disease is hard for her, too.
My youngest daughter was diagnosed a year and a half ago, but the transition was not easy for my oldest daughter, who is not diabetic. She is such a soft-hearted girl who is kind and caring and too willingly takes the back-seat since her sister’s diagnosis. I try to make time for her, one-on-one, but she is going on thirteen and hanging with her friends is a priority for her now. Every now and then, she breaks down, and I spend time cuddling and talking to her. This disease is hard for her, too.