What a Difference a Decade Makes!

Yes, I did say "decade". I know the old saying is really "what a difference a day makes" but I hope that you will humor me here.

10 years ago our son, Kendall, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Many of you already know this information and you're like, "yeah, whatever, big deal". Well, really it was a BIG DEAL for all of us and especially for me, the over-protective, watchful mom.

I'll never forget the day or the events that transpired. It's like one of those most cemented events that is placed in a person's psyche.

Kendall was 6 at the time and was not feeling well. As a matter of fact, he had not been feeling well for days, and was really starting to worry me. We had noticed weeks before a pattern of "tee-teeing" frequently and drinking to beat the band, but that was about it. Didn't think much about it, although I will have to say I did ask a good friend that had some nursing experience if they thought it could be diabetes and they said "no". So, I dismissed it.

We were preparing to make a trip up to D.C. to see my mom. All three children and I. Hubby was in a new job and couldn't go, so we were getting packed and ready. But Kendall just didn't look right to me. I don't know if you want to call it mom's intuition but I would say that the Lord nudged me inside. I called the doctor's office to make an appointment. And we were on our way to Athens within the hour. When we got to the pediatrician, he looked Kendall over and immediately suggested we go see an endocrinologist. In my mind, I was not thinking anything serious. Looking back, I really don't know what conclusions he drew, but he must've thought something or did a blood test or urine test without me knowing, but at this point, I still had no clue.

The next part of the story is not a memory I cherish; as the endo. that we saw that day is what I would call "crude, rude and socially unacceptable." This guy seriously had no "bedside manner" about him. In fact, we went into the office, sat down, he took Kendall's blood sugar and immediately looked at me and said "your son has type 1 diabetes." No "I'm sorry", "I know this is difficult", etc... They immediately gave Kendall a shot of insulin and told us to proceed to the hospital. All the while, I'm still kind of in a brain fog, not knowing what is really going on. Poor little Kendall, he's just following along without a care in the world. (Note, I have other stories about this endo. and his very uncaring attitude to us during the weeks and months that followed - but I won't bore you!)

The next few weeks were quite a whirlwind for me. I am not trying to paint a somber picture for you or one where I want pity, I'm just telling you how it was. I took all of this quite hard and at different points along the way was asking God why He would allow this to happen to my son.

Ten years later, here we are. Kendall is healthy (as healthy as a teenager can be with diabetes) and does just about anything and everything he wants. He eats what he wants and acts like a normal teenager. (How do normal teenagers act, anyway?)

But God taught me a lot along the way. I learned a trust that I could never have fabricated on my own. I learned that there are other people out there that care and that want to comfort and show their support. I learned perspective; meaning being thankful for what we have and not comparing to others. Someone else has it worse than we do. I learned compassion. I learned that God really never does take us through anything where His grace does not go before us and sustain us. I learned thankfulness and gratefulness and contentment. And I've watched God fashion a young man before my eyes; a young man that loves Him and has a heart for Him and a young man that has diabetes. But diabetes does not identify who Kendall is. Diabetes is just a characteristic, just another mark that makes him unique and uniquely able to have compassion and the ability to minister to others with similar frailties.

God's still teaching me. I'm glad to be able to say that. I worry for the day when I am not supple, soft or pliable; when I no longer am teachable and able to receive correction and remodeling.

So, this post is really a thank you note to God. Thanks for seeing us through a difficult decade. But thanks also for allowing Your grace to be our bulwark. Thank you for giving us the gift of a son and all that entails. Teach us not to question but to rely on You completely. For, as I've told Kendall several times, since that day of diagnosis, I believe that You, God, did not cause this condition, but You allowed it for a reason. We may never see the reasons while we live here on this earth but there is a purpose, there is a reason, there is a destination.