Diabetes Downer

It has been quite a week of emotional challenges for the family.  Jenna now faces Type1 Diabetes and the family now enters a new journey of learning and support for this chronic condition.  Like first learning a new vocabulary word, buying a new model car, or any other newly learned (or acquired) item, suddenly the incidence of occurrence all around you seems greater than ever before.  Almost as common as every other part of your life.

For Diabetes the numbers are large but still a small percent of the population - 422 Million (2016) or 8.5% of adults. 90% of those have Type 2 so those with Type 1 are more rare  (1.25 Million in the USA).  Even with so small a number, as people we know have compassionately reached out to us, we have found numerous friends and their families with Type 1 Diabetes (8 and counting). Even though Type 1 is usually diagnosed at an early age (Juvenile), our connections were all diagnosed in their 30's.

Causes of Type 1 are unknown, but they have found some genes (HLA genotypes)  that influence the risk.  Other theories include environmental factors - possible viral infection or diet (gliaden a protein present in gluten).  But there is no real evidence for any of these yet.

As I told Jenna, knowing the cause (without any cure - preventative or post) does the person with the condition no good. Any anger associated with it just becomes self defeating and an unproductive use of time. Better to move as quickly from this emotion and from grief (which will occur)  to an emotional equilibrium with this new condition and hope for achieving the best future possible.

Easy to say (especially from a person that doesn't have the condition), but in reality everyone of us has some condition or weakness (inherited or created) that we must live with, cope with, and use to the best of our ability to achieve the purpose we were created for by God.  We maybe equal in the eyes of God, but we are all unequal in our own eyes. Only when we look at others, are we tempted to judge our own circumstances.  We can either let envy flood our thoughts or compassion redirect our attention into service and humility for our blessings.