We had our first JDRF Northern Indiana meet-up over the weekend at Shepard Swim School. It was so nice for Joel and I to meet so many other Type 1 parents, all sharing similar, yet different stories of our kiddos.

Some takeaways from me:

Joel and I have always been grateful that Luke’s diagnosis didn’t come until he was eleven and a half years old. Seeing these itty bitties checking blood sugar and getting insulin shots really confirmed our gratefulness. They all did so great with it all, though. One little 3-year-old girl, while getting her insulin shot, was all worried and bracing herself. When it was done she said, “That’s it!?”

Another thing we noticed was how many more girls were affected by Type 1, at least those locally. For most of our time there, Luke was the only Type 1 boy at the meet-up. Then a little boy (3 years old) came later. And maybe with an hour left, an older one came. (…NOT that he was complaining of having to hang out with the girls at all.) There were some boy siblings that Luke played with, as well as a friend (who is a girl… but he’d be so embarrassed if I said girlfriend!) from school. After I googled, though, I found the opposite to be true. Boys are slightly more likely to be affected by Type 1 than girls. Interesting.

Lastly, we need to have more of these meet-ups. As we were leaving, Luke said, “It was cool to not be the only one counting carbs and giving insulin.” For once, he was the norm. It hurts my heart to know that he feels self-conscious about doing what he has to do in order to stay alive. I’m so glad he was able to feel normal for once. And I cannot wait for him to go to diabetes camp this summer!

Thanks, JDRF Northern Indiana and Shepard Swim School for helping my boy to feel normal again! We’re looking forward to future meet-ups!