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| Siblings Share Their Experiences | ||
When my mom and dad need me then I just get him a juice or a snack really quickly if he’s really sick. -Olivia, 6 years old Hey, do you want to play with me? It’s really tough because when I say, “Hey, do you want to play with me?” and then he says, “I feel low”, it takes an hour for him to get better and then we just don’t play. -Olivia, 6 years oldWe are the closest siblings that I know. We get a long really well. He’s my best friend. He’s a really athletic boy. He’ll do anything active—he’ll play any sport and he’s good at everything he does. We’re just really close. The whole family is really close. -Abby, 16 years old We feel more thankful everyday Billy was in a car accident six months before he was diagnosed and I think I was 10 and he was 7 years old at this time. I think that feeling like you can lose someone so fast really subconsciously made us all come closer together and just feel more thankful everyday. -Abby, 16 years oldI wanted to be a part of everything We got the hospital and I wanted to be a part of everything. I love being in charge, love making decisions, and feeling mature. So, my parents let me go to all the training meetings and all the doctor meetings. They didn’t shield us, I guess you could say. It was a whole family thing and I think that’s part of what made us closer because suddenly I was a part of all the decisions for how much insulin are we going to give Billy. Then I got really good at it so it made me kind of be a part of every step. I still felt the diabetes took precedent whether I got read a bed time story or not. You know--they would come in after when they took care of Billy. -Abby, 16 years old It was still difficult because I was still at the age where I really wanted the attention. I didn’t like look at the big picture as easily as I do now. They did a lot of things that made it easier. One thing was bringing me to the informational meetings and things like asking me “How many carbs are in this? Let’s count it together.” Also when I was little, my mom would take me away on mother-daughter vacations. -Abby, 16 years old Doing active things as a family When I was little, I think the biggest thing was that Billy came first while we were doing active things. Like if he was low, we had to stop. And if he wanted, we waited a little while before we started up again. But, I wanted to keep going and I thought Billy got his way more often even though it wasn’t necessarily like that. -Abby, 16 years old I don't know life any other way than with diabetes I don’t know life any other way than with diabetes. We’ve been living with it for so long, so nothing stands out to me because it’s just how life is. I think traveling is difficult because Billy’s blood sugars tend to waver more than now. When we’re home, we have a schedule and all the settings on his pump are set for this kind of life. But when we travel, his blood sugars tend to go really high from sitting in an airplane for a while. It stops us from being able to go to the hotel right away. We have to go out and exercise. You know, it’s more work, I think. It makes traveling more stressful than it already is. -Abby, 16 years old Just take the time once a month to do something special with that kid. You know, whether it’s the dad or the mom, to go to dinner or just go for a walk with the sibling. Just taking the time away from the other child and spending extra time with the sibling. I know that not every family can afford to go on a weekend vacation, but that always is something I look forward to. Also, one place I really found comfort in was going to my aunt’s and uncle’s house because it was just them and me. We would watch a movie and have some ice cream. -Abby, 16 years old There was definitely resistance. Not to the point that I wouldn’t eat healthy foods, but I still had a sweet tooth. I still wanted things. And I didn’t want to eat bread that was really gross. Like there are different levels of wheat bread, and there are some that are equal to cardboard and I really didn’t like those. But, the transition got easier, especially as I got older and could see the bigger picture. Just as slow as possible is definitely the key. -Abby, 16 years old
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Hospital Boston Department of Psychiatry. All Rights Reserved. The information on this website should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional. Updated: June 8, 2009 |
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