Sunday, November 14, 2010

A World Diabetes Day Toast

It’s still dark out.

The furnace is droning on, working to take off the night’s chill.  Oatmeal bubbles and snaps as it simmers on the stove.  My oldest daughter is lounging in her bathrobe on a chair in the living room watching cartoons.  Jenna is still in bed, sleeping soundly.

I’m here tapping away on the keys of my laptop, being tantalized by the smell of coffee brewing, thinking about the bolus I gave Jenna almost two hours ago to correct the high blood sugar she was knee-deep in at 5am.  I wonder if she is going to wake up for breakfast before her blood sugar drops too low.  But I’m confident her blood sugar will indeed come down, thanks to that precious liquid - insulin.


And on this World Diabetes Day, I’m filled with heart-warming, tear-summoning gratitude for it’s discovery.  Without the tireless efforts of Dr.’s Banting and Best my little girl wouldn’t be here today along with countless other children -  children who were given the gift of life and allowed to grow up instead of becoming another tragic, heart-breaking statistic.

So, on this day I would like to raise a glass (or at this hour, a mug) to the good doctors, Banting and Best, and to all the scientists working to find a cure for the disease that was a death sentence before their discovery of insulin.

Happy World Diabetes Day.  May we one day soon be celebrating a cure.

4 comments:

Lee Ann Thill said...

My wdd is not off to a fabulous start, so maybe I'll skip the mug of tea or glass of Fresca, and toast with some pinot noir.

Hope your day is great :)

Anonymous said...

Happy World Diabetes Day to Jenna, Sherry, and the whole crew there and elsewhere on the opposite ends of this computer screen! Good start over here, with stable BGs and all that, and now I'm off to find my blue shirt and embrace the day's advocacy! Best to you all!

Jen said...

Cheers!

shannon said...

Beautifully written, thank you!