Type 1 Diaversary Day, 3 Years BRAVE.

What is a Diaversary?

So what is a diaversary I might here you say. . .

Well an anniversary is a date we choose to look back and remember something memorable that has happened like the day you married or met someone special, a day since you moved home or something else significant.

A DIAVERSARY is what we in the Type 1 community refer to as the anniversary since diabetes entered our families.

It’s a memorable date but tinged with sadness and a sense of LOSS as our child’s freedom and innocence was taken from them.

This weekend marks 3 years since that life changing day when Olivia was diagnosed with Type 1 at only 4 years old.

We didn’t know what the journey and our new life was going to look like back then because probably like you we didn’t know anything about Type 1.

We never imagined in a million years it would be part of our family.

We didn’t have a choice back then of whether we wanted to live with Type 1, it was thrust upon us. The day Olivia’s pancreas went to sleep!

One of the hardest and most frustrating things in the midst of all the grief was having to break the nations stereotype and explain to everyone you meet that actually Type 1 has absolutely nothing, that’s right, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with bad diet, sugary food or not enough exercise!!

I don’t say this to point the finger because until this point we also knew nothing about Type 1 but it highlighted to us the huge need to RAISE AWARENESS and understanding of Type 1.

What is life with Type 1 like?

When people, both kids and adults living with type 1 were asked to describe it in one word, these were the most popular responses.

Unfortunately its NOT as simple as “Oh you just have to take insulin and you’ll be OK”, another common misconception!

For those of you who don’t know life is a balance of constantly testing and monitoring blood sugars 247, carbohydrate counting EVERYTHING that you eat by reading packaging or weighing food, making dosage decisions of how much insulin to give, knowing that too much or too little can be FATAL.

Blood sugar levels are affected not only by the food we eat but also exercise, the weather, temperature, stress, anxiety, hormones, excitement, illness just to mention few. In a nutshell its hard work!!

My reflections on our DIAVERSARY!

I could go on and on about how horrible Type 1 is, what an inconvenience it is, how draining on everyone involved it is, how it takes over every minute of every day but that’s not what our diaversary is about.

As a family we chose 3 years ago that we would not let it BEAT us, we would not let Type 1 take over our lives or stop us from doing anything.

Today I don’t want to remember the sadness we felt at diagnosis but I want to remember how far we have come.

I want to acknowledge our daughter for:

• her outlook on life
• her bravery
• her positivity
• her joy
• her sheer determination to get up every day and live life to the full.

She doesn’t even realise she does it, she probably can’t even remember the time when she didn’t have T1 but she is a WARRIOR she is a true SUPERHERO she is BRAVE and she is STRONG.

Through all the trials, the meltdowns, the injection fear, the cannula insertion fear, the highs and the lows, I can honestly say I have NEVER heard our daughter complain. She holds her head up high and gets on with it.

Today we choose to be POSITIVE!

If our daughter can live with Type 1 and always have a smile on her face and a song in her mouth they she can conquer everything life throws at her.

When I asked her what she would want to say to other children today who have just be diagnosed, her words were:

“Try not to be frightened, it will all be OK you can be brave too.”

I just want to give a huge shout out to all you other Type 1 kids out there and adults! You are amazing!! You are ROLE models for all those who look up to you.

For those parents and carers who put in all the hard graft behind the scenes. Your selfless love and hard work in keeping your precious little ones alive will one day be rewarded.

For those relatives and friends parents of our Type 1 kiddies who willingly bite the bullet and learn the ropes so you can make our kids feel included and have them round to play, to parties or to sleep! You are amazing!

Also to all of you who don’t have Type 1 in your families but who read my posts and choose to take an interest in our lives and give us the support we need to keep going. We really appreciate you too.

How have we coped as a family?

1.Staying positive

– a positive mindset makes all things achievable. It encourages our kids to be strong and makes getting through the day so much easier.

2.Being thankful

– a thankful heart makes all difficult things pale into insignificance.

3.Getting involved in our Type 1 community

– So much good has already come out of this situation, we have met so many amazing people that we other wise we wouldn’t of met and love being involved with the other Type 1 families in our city.

4.Supporting others

– Every new day is an opportunity to connect with people and to help others going though the same thing as us. This is one of the reasons I started my blog, to create an encouraging community and offer my tips and resources we have found helpful along the way.

5.By your support

– In being here today. We can’t make Type 1 go away but we can raise awareness to the rest of the people around us to break down the stereotypes of what type 1 is not and encourage our kids to be FREE in who they are.

6.Remembering the big picture

– Our God is bigger than the highs and lows and can turn all things into good. Our focus on Him and His goodness gives us as a family the strength each day to keep pressing on no matter what life throws.

If you like what you’ve read today, I’d love you to sign up to my email list if you haven’t already so you can get my weekly newsletter and so I can send you useful tips, resources and printables!

I’d also love to connect with you and hear about your story and thoughts on diaversary’s, so leave me a comment below.