Why I Write About Kortnie's Diabetes #NHBPM Day 1

November is Diabetes Awareness Month.

 

So, in honor of that, I am going to try to  participate in Wego Health's National Health Blog Post Month.  This means that I will be writing one post per day for the month of November.  Wego Health has given prompts for each day of the month.  I can choose from 2 different prompts or from a list of alternate prompts, and I get to skip 2 days during the month if I want. 

 

So here goes, today is Day 1, and the prompts were "Why I write about my health" or "My favorite thing about social media/Internet/online health communities".

 

I am choosing the first, hence the title of the blog post.

 

I write about my daughter's health, in essence, her Type 1 Diabetes for a couple of reasons.  These are in no particular order.

 

#1 I write for me, so I can vent, so I can remember, so I can look back and see how far we've come.

 

#2 I write for Kortnie, so she can look back and remember.  Also, I write for her because... well, this is hard to say, but because I am afraid that someday she might have a child with Type 1 Diabetes, and maybe this blog will be beneficial if she ever becomes the mother of a child with T1D.

 

#3  I write for the other mothers out there.  Reading the blogs of other D-Mom's and PWD's (persons with diabetes) has helped me in so many ways.  They give me a feeling of same-same, they give me a sense of community, they give me good ideas and insight.  Reading blogs was my first foray into the DOC (Diabetes Online Community), and from the blogs I first found I have made friends and joined other online communities.  I treasure these friendships!  I hope that my blog gives the DOC back some of what they have given me.

 

#4  I write for my family and friends.  I know of a couple of my cousins and friends who read my blog.  I don't ever want them to feel sorry for me or for Kortnie, but it's nice to be able to share some of our daily challenges and triumphs with them so they can glimpse what our life is like.  Also, I figure by blogging I can share all of that and they can read or not, it's their choice, they don't feel like it's shoved down their throats.  I hope!  I think in the beginning I talked about diabetes way too much, in person, on my personal facebook page, and on my other family blog.  I probably still do sometimes, but hopefully I'm toning it down some.   Now, some might say that I have that right to talk about diabetes whenever I want to, but really, I don't want to talk about it all of the time, everywhere to everyone.  I don't want diabetes to RUN our lives, it is a BIG part of my family and our life together, but it DOES NOT rule the world! 

 

#5 I write for whomever may stumble onto my blog, maybe they'll learn something.  All I knew about diabetes before my daughter's diagnosis was the stereotypical type things.  I have learned so much these last 3 years, and this is one small way that I feel I can advocate for my daughter and for other Type 1 Diabetics.

 

So, that's it, that's why I write this blog.  As a bonus, I'll answer the other prompt too.  My favorite thing about social media/Internet/online health communities is.....reading blogs of other D-Moms and a few PWD's (later on in the month one of the prompts is to share your favorite blogs!).  Also I belong to a few pages on Facebook where I can go and write anything about diabetes or ask a question, and instantly so many other parents of CWD's (Child With Diabetes) or PWD's are right there to sympathize with me or help me out with an answer. 

 

Also, everyday during November I will be sharing a Type 1 Diabetes Fact of the Day and today's fact is...

 

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Its onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent T1D, and-at present-nothing you can do to get rid of it.