Today is a monumental day for our family. No, it’s not anyone’s birthday or a holiday. It’s not a day most people reading this will ever reach as a milestone either. As of today, Everett has lived 265 days without Type 1 diabetes and 265 days with it. Not to sound cliché, but tomorrow is literally the turning point for the rest of his life.
22 Things I Learned in 2022 and My Hopes for 2023
2022 was without a doubt the hardest year of my life. I got the idea for this post a few weeks ago and thought after the year we’ve had, it might be interesting to document. I’m not holding anything back. There has been a lot of stress, angst, and worry. There have been happy tears and grief and disappointment.
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A Day In The Life of a Type 1 Diabetes Parent
Oh boy has it been awhile since I posted last. In May, Everett became our hospital’s youngest to be diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 8 months old. If I’m being honest, the last four months have been hell regarding this autoimmune disease. I was inspired a few times to document a day in the life and how many decisions we constantly make now that we are our son’s pancreas 24/7. And I gave up before 10am every time. But a few weeks ago, I did it. I documented the entire day from midnight to midnight!
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“Everyone Should Have a Choice”
A few weeks ago, I shared with someone who did not know of Everett’s Down syndrome diagnosis. It took me a couple days to shake off the conversation but in light of World Down Syndrome Day, his words are once again ringing in my ears.
“Everyone should have a choice.”
I am quite certain my point across was misunderstood. See, everyone currently does have a choice. Continue reading ““Everyone Should Have a Choice””
What I Want You to Know About Down syndrome
When Everett was a few hours old, the hospital pediatrician said he had some soft markers for Down syndrome and wanted to test him. The waiting period was some of the hardest days I’ve lived through. After the diagnosis, I had so many questions. I read, I learned, and there is so much that I didn’t know that I am guessing you don’t either. Here are the “big hitters,” if you will, that I think everyone should know.
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Everett’s Birth Story
This is by far the longest post I have ever written. I have included headings that hopefully guide you to reading any parts of interest. We had a somewhat life-altering surprise after Everett was born and this is the condensed version we are willing to share.
Anyone who has recently been pregnant is probably familiar with the Arrive study. The gist of the study was that there was less issues if a woman was induced her 39th week of pregnancy than if she went into labor naturally past 40 weeks. Since my pregnancy was so rough, we signed up to be induced the day I turned 39 weeks. Except Everett had other plans. Continue reading “Everett’s Birth Story”