No way my kid is diabetic!!

My daughter walks into my room and says "Do you know what happened 1,825 days ago?" Math is not her favorite subject, so it has to be something important. It is. Today is the 5 year anniversary of her Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis. Yes,I remember what happened that day. We had gone to the doctor because she had started wetting the bed. She was 7, it was out of the blue. We thought she had a bladder infection. Instead we are rushed to the children's hospital a hour and half away, with a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. We were terrified. We knew what life with a chronic illness is like, but know there were two of us. On the way, we prayed and sang praise to God, I told her I was scared too, but didn't want her to know how terrified I was. We are not strangers to hospitals. I go for a short vacation about every other year. Our daughter spent months in Cincinnati Children's during her first year, she would often have night terrors after visiting family who were in the hospital. Proof that our children form memories at a young age. As we walked into the hospital tightly holding hands, part of me wondered if she would have night terrors from this visit. We had a short 3 day vacation at the hospital. We learned that our life was going to drastically change. We learned about carb counts, insulin ratios, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, glucagon, carb free snacks (which truly don't exist), night checks, blood sugar checks, ketosis, a number of other diabetic info, and how thankful we are to have a strong willed child. She was going to need it. Before we could be released, my hubby and I had to be tested. Could we give shots? Yep. Luckily we were experienced in this area since I had to take insulin and heparin shots at times with my Lupus. Know the signs of high and low blood sugar, how to treat emergencies and sick days? Ok. We have lots of handouts and numbers to call. Do you have any idea how drastically your life will change? NO WAY. They didn't ask this question but it would have been a good one. After 5 years this is our normal. We can answer those questions with flying colors and probably share some tricks we have learned. Looking back at our daughter's health, we see the signs of Type 1 Diabetes a year before her diagnosis. Week after week of "viruses", fits after going to holiday dinners or birthday parties, pain in her legs, heart racing, headaches, hunger - these were all signs of high or low blood sugar. Today we can look at her face, listen to her attitude change and know she is high or low. What is the hardest to deal with in our normal? It is the fear of making a mistake. Her insulin pump is her life line. Too much, she could die. Too little, go into a coma. How often I sneak upstairs to make sure she is still with us, as if she were still an infant. Knowing that what worked today may not work tomorrow. What is the blessings with our normal? We are blessed by God through this struggle. We have learned to stand as a family. I am encouraged to fight my own illness, when I see this beautiful young lady fight hers. I see her growing in faith and God working in her life; that is a blessing.