Hope

Those of us in the diabetic community are a pretty diverse group, we have stay at home parents, blue collar workers, business owners, people in emergency services, doctors, lawyers, writers, you name a profession and I'm sure we have someone who works in the field.

I've formed friendships...REAL friendships with people from Scotland, Australia, Mexico, India, Canada, and every state in the union. Communication can sometimes be tricky due to the different languages - more than once I've had to use google interpreter to figure out what was being written but it's worth the effort to learn that even though we live far away we have the same hope and fears.

Some in our group are wealthy, some middle class, and some barely scraping by...but there's one thing that joins us together...one thing that overcomes the boundaries normally set up by social status, governments, and geographic boundaries.

Hope

All of us, without exception live with the daily hope that one day a cure for diabetes will be found, that one day our we or our loved ones will no longer be dependent on daily blood checks and insulin injections to stay alive.

Hope is a powerful thing, it keeps us motivated, keeps us focused,it keeps us sane. 

Being the parent of a child (or in my case adult daughter) with Type 1 Diabetes is challenging because this stupid disease doesn't follow any rules.  One minute their blood sugars can be well within range and an hour later it's so high you're worried about diabetic ketoacidoses or so low you they can slip into a coma and die.  I'm not exaggerating...Type 1 Diabetes really IS that spastic of a disease!

Hope keeps us on task, writing letters to our state legislators, walking and riding to raise money for research, staying up to date on the latest research.  What one of us may miss another will see and share. We're like that in the DOC, we share information, we inspire each other, and we are quick to dole out hugs when managing the disease becomes overwhelming.  I would have never chosen this disease for my daughter, but I'm so thankful for the supportive community and wonderful friends it's brought into our lives.

On April 3rd those of us in the diabetic community will once again come together in a symbolic gesture reminding ourselves and others how important hope is in our lives. It's simple, some might even think it silly, but for us it's important.  On this day, all around the world we will simply write HOPE on our hands, post pictures online and smile knowing that others in our community are doing the same. I encourage all of you to join us, everyone is welcome...it's a small gesture for you but it's the most important thing in the world for us.

So now you know the story behind the Hope you'll see written on people's hands. Hope...four small letters that mean so much.