Feature Friday: Skiy & VeraToday we are learning about Skiy and Vera from Ohio! A strong mama and a girl living with type 1 Diabetes… IntroductionMy name is Skiy Berglund and my 5 year old daughter Vera has T1D. We are located outside of Cleveland OH. Vera is a wild child with a free spirit. She is kind and selfless, always putting others before herself. She became a big sister about 1 month ago. I work full time with dogs, managing a small dog service business and I homeschool Vera. DiagnosisShe was diagnosed 3 years ago at the age of 2. Diagnosis StoryVera started having accidents and telling me she had to use the restroom frequently. She was fully potty trained at the time. So I thought it was unusual. She also seemed to have an unquenchable thirst. I assumed she was having accidents because she was drinking so much. She was constantly hungry and would fall asleep out of nowhere. She would even doze off while eating. I thought this was normal toddler behavior. The only reason we even took her to the doctor was because the accidents were pretty frequent and I was concerned that she had a UTI. My husband took her to the doctor and thankfully her pediatrician checked for sugar spilling into her urine. Her blood sugar at diagnosis was close to 500, but we were lucky to avoid her going into DKA. Had we continued to brush off her symptoms, I have no doubt the outcome would have been much different. Initial ThoughtsMy husband and I felt responsible for her diagnosis. I remember going through all of the five stages of grief those first few weeks and even months. It was overwhelming and I remember crying a lot. The Challenge of T1Trying not to live in fear. Today’s fears and tomorrow’s fears. Knowing that one day I won’t have control over her illness is a fear I have. Worrying that I won’t teach her everything she needs to know to care for herself scares me. And worrying that she won’t take her own disease management seriously is a fear. I have so many worries. I find that taking it one day at a time is the best way to manage my fears. Share what the word thrive means to you!Thriving to me is living the best version of yourself. Staying physically and mentally healthy, being educated, and feeling good about yourself. What helps you as the caregiver and your child thrive with diabetes?Education. Honestly learning more about the disease and advances to improve our control of it has been huge. We love the Juicebox podcast and connecting with other T1D parents online. What do you wish someone told you earlier as a caregiver for someone with diabetes?Get a CGM and an insulin pump as soon as you can! Words of EncouragementIt does get better. It takes a while and while it will never be like it once was, you will find strength that you never knew you had and your child will become the strongest person you know. You will develop a bond and trust with your child that non T1D families will never have. Final ThoughtsWe have been participating in the Omnipod Horizon study for the last year and it’s a game changer. All I can say is that it is definitely worth the wait! Love, Skiy & Vera
If you enjoyed reading check out some previous posts HERE or HERE ! Also, check out these great T1D resources here created by yours truly 🙂 |
