Chase and Murphy - 2004
One of our favorite movies is Shakespear In Love. It's romantic, historic, and pretty darn funny. It also has one of my favorite movie quotes:
Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.
When faced with insurmountable obstacles in our path Gary and I tend to remind each other that life is a mystery. If we are lucky, it will all turn out well.
There are so many mysteries in our lives. The major one is what causes type 1? If we know what causes it, we can hopefully cure it. This has been weighing on my mind lately after reading a few posts from two other moms of diabetics. One is Hallie's post on encountering a couple that blamed their cat for their daughter's diabetes. Yes, their cat. Read about it here at the Princess and the Pump. How she kept her cool is beyond me.
And then there was Lisa, who posted about how she and her son "shared a few tears while he told me how much he wished he didn't have to have diabetes, and how he wished there was a cure. And this is why I love this kid: we were sitting there, hugging, tears on our cheeks... and he grabbed my face and said, 'Maybe it will happen someday. Wouldn't it be cool if Tutti Frutti was the cure?'".
Chase loves Tutti Frutti. I read the post to him and he, too, felt that cure would be awesome. The comments Lisa received were heart warming, supportive and sweet. Except for one. This one: "Tutti frutti is what causes this shit. and there is a cure. get off the carbs." Lisa deleted the comment but told me about it and asked me how I would have responded.
How would I have responded? Let's just say it wouldn't have been pretty. How type 1 occurs is a mystery. Plain and simple. There is NO cure. Plain and simple. It isn't caused by cats or carbs. And you know what? Words hurt. Even if they aren't directed at me.
When I was pregnant with Chase I read an article that said breastfeeding at least six months has preventative benefits for kids developing type 1. Having it in our family I made note and Chase was breastfed until he was 10 months. The article also said not to introduce solid foods until at least 6 months to help prevent type 1. As a result, I didn't let that kid eat anything solid until he was 6 months. Guess what? He developed freak'n diabetes anyway. I was proactive. I did was I was suppose to. I was a good mom. Okay, we had a cat at the time, but still, I did my part.
A year ago, Hallie had written that she would crawl across broken glass for a cure. I can't think of a better way to describe what we, as mothers, would do for our children. When others insinuate that we had a major role in their developing type 1, we get angry. We get hurt. We get tired of explaining the difference between type 1 and type 2.
It's a mystery. Plain and simple. We are waiting to see how it all plays out. We are hoping for the best. I'm going to take Chase to Tutti Fruttiand let him down a bowl of frozen yogurt covered in gummi worms, Fruity Pebbles, and Skittles to beat the heat. And I might just let him get another cat and pet it until it goes bald (okay, no I won't - no more cats for us).
