Have you ever wondered why people with Type 1 Diabetes talk about the anniversary of their diabetes diagnosis as if it's a birthday or a wedding anniversary? A Type 1 diagnosis is so life-altering, almost no one can forget the day of diagnosis and there is even a slang word for it: diaversary.
I bring this up now because we just celebrated Daniel's 3rd Diaversary. It's hard for me to believe that we have been living with diabetes for 3 years and instead of being upset or sad like one would expect, I feel strangely happy about it. I feel good and I feel like celebrating.
My son would be horrified if we didn't celebrate...he looks forward to it each year like his birthday. We do a big celebration...I pick him up at school and take him out to lunch, he gets to choose what we have for dinner, we have an ice cream cake, and he gets a small gift. It is definitely a "what a great job you do" and not a "yay diabetes" kind of thing. He has so many times during the year when it is like...no, you're low, you have to wait a few minutes to go play outside...or, no, you have ketones, you can't ride your skateboard right now. I think he definitely deserves one day that, BECAUSE he has diabetes, he GETS things instead of losing them or missing out. This year his day fell on a weekend so we celebrated with a trip to Knott's Berry Farm.
My son would be horrified if we didn't celebrate...he looks forward to it each year like his birthday. We do a big celebration...I pick him up at school and take him out to lunch, he gets to choose what we have for dinner, we have an ice cream cake, and he gets a small gift. It is definitely a "what a great job you do" and not a "yay diabetes" kind of thing. He has so many times during the year when it is like...no, you're low, you have to wait a few minutes to go play outside...or, no, you have ketones, you can't ride your skateboard right now. I think he definitely deserves one day that, BECAUSE he has diabetes, he GETS things instead of losing them or missing out. This year his day fell on a weekend so we celebrated with a trip to Knott's Berry Farm.
The boys rode rides and enjoyed their lunch and dinner at the park. We made every correction as needed. His blood sugar was running high. I am assuming its from all the excitement that day. We laughed a lot and shared memories as we spent the time waiting in lines to enjoy a ride. Even though we had a bad diabetes day, it turned out to be a great day. Daniel deserves to enjoy this diaversary. He has made it this far with only one trip back to the hospital for DKA. We will celebrate every year for as long as he wants to.
Daniel even got over his fear of roller coasters and rode more rides than I imagined he would. What an exciting day it was for all of us. Even little Landon enjoyed his time in Camp Snoopy. He's a little thrill seeker. He loved all his rides and says "again" when it ends.
Good luck to all the other families celebrating a diaversary with whatever you do. I think it is a day to reflect and celebrate how far you've all come and how you haven't let diabetes rule your lives. So, congrats again!
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