HAWMC? and an Acrostic poem by Yours Truly...

Ok, ok, another acronym of daily blog posts for a month. And yep, I have signed up. I figure, it will coincide with the April NaBloPoMo that I already signed up for.

So what is HAWMC? Apparently, April is Health Activist Writer's Month. Since I am an activist for T1 Diabetes, I decided to take on this challenge.

Today's topic is to write an Acrostic poem for the health condition that affects my life, or to use the word HEALTH. I have decided to create a poem for TYPE ONE DIABETES. So, here goes...

Too many people are being diagnosed with T1 Diabetes. 40 new people get that dx every.single.day.Too many people.
Yo yo. Sometimes The Superhero's blood sugar has a yo yo effect. Up and down. Up and down.Yo yo.
Painful.Tears are involved. This disease is painful. All the poking. All the highs. All the lows. Painful.
Exhausting. Sleep? What's that? We are up checking BG at all hours of the day and night. And it is exhausting for the T1 person himself too. He has to deal with the poking, highs, and lows. Exhausting.

Obscure. Diabetes is hard to perceive. Not clear. Vague. Uncertain. (definition found here). Obscure.
Needles. Lots of needles. Lancets to poke tiny fingers. Shots to administer insulin. Needles to insert pump sites. Needles to insert CGM sites.
Easy? No way! Diabetes is in NO way easy. It is a 24/7 disease that we do our best to manage day in and day out. Easy? No way!

Diabetes. T1 Diabetes is an Autoimmune disease with no known cause. It was not caused from eating too much sugar. It is important for EVERYONE to learn the signs of T1. Knowing the signs could save a life. Seriously. Diabetes.
Independence. People with T1 Diabetes strive for independence, but sometimes still require the assistance of others. It is important to know how to help a person with Diabetes having a hypoglycemic episode. Independence.
Amazing. Parents of children with Diabetes and those with diabetes themselves are pretty amazing people. We all deal with the ins and outs of this disease day in and day out. Amazing.
Brave. Children (and adults) with T1 Diabetes are incredibly BRAVE. They deal with all the pokes and prods constantly. I for one know that *I* would not do as well as I have seen The Superhero do. He is incredibly brave. Brave.
Expensive. Insulin. Needles.Pump sites. Cartridges. CGM sites. Alcohol swabs. Etc. Enough said? Expensive.
Time. Two parts to this concept of Diabetes and "time". The actual "time" it takes to change sites, check fingers, administer insulin, count carbs, etc. And the "time" it takes to grieve over Diabetes. To come to terms with this disease. It is time consuming. Time.
Exercise. Good and bad. Exercise is known to DROP blood sugar in someone with Diabetes. This can be good. And this can be bad. It all depends on where the starting BG is and how the person handles it. Exercise.
Support. People in the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) provide the BEST support to one another. It is also important for those of us dealing with this disease to have support from our family and friends who don't deal with this daily. Support.


*Disclaimer: I am a mom of a T1 Diabetic child. I am NOT a doctor. I just play one in real life. Please do not take anything in this post or any other post on this blog as medical advice. If you have questions or concerns of your own, please seek advice from your doctor.*