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If you are a caregiver to a child with T1D, how old is your child?
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I am the T1 and I am the one taking care of me.
The question and the choice of answers point to one of the problems being an adult who develops T1.
Son 7yrs old and daughter 5yrs old
Though I answered I am not a caregiver, I was a caregiver to a 15 year old kid with T1D: me. But my mother shared much of the responsibility. So did my father and brother who had to respect the extra attention I got from her and my dietary changes, my urine testing, my meal timing, etc. Unlike Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotameyer (sp?), I did not take full responsibility until I left home for college. She knew right away it was up to her to take full responsibility for giving her own injections. I went for three entire years before getting to that point.
I don’t have children, but I was an 8 yr old child diagnosed with T1 diabetes in December 1962. I took over caring for myself by making ADA food choices, giving self injections, and carrying sugar cubes wrapped in aluminum foil in my pockets and purse at age by age 9 in the dark ages of diabetes care.
My single divorced mother was very busy working full-time to provide essential necessities for me and my younger brother, but for the day to day self-care stuff? It was pretty much up to me from the start – with minimal adult supervision. Thus early in in my life I learned and knew more about diabetes self-care than most of the less capable “caregiving” adults in my life.
Going to diabetes kids sleep away camp for two weeks every summer during my growing up from 9 to 15 years was a big factor in learning to live with diabetes independently as a young person.
She wasn’t actually a child of mine, but when my 67 year old cousin was recovering from a brain injury, I did help with her care for about 5 months. Since we were both type 1 diabetics, I knew about taking care of her diabetes more than any of the health caregivers that my cousin’s husband had tried before I took over the role.
Diabetes has been part of my life for almost 70 years, but it came as a complete surprise when my 14 year old labradoodle was diagnosed. He’s been taking insulin for over two years, and I feel so lucky to know my way around insulin and diet well enough to be able to help Charlie survive. He’s one of those ever cheerful labradoodles!
My brother’s girlfriend had a cat that required daily insulin injections. It was so bedraggled, I knew it wasn’t getting enough insulin.
2 of my 3 sons were Type 1, diagnosed at 23 months and 3 years old. Now in their late 20s mid 30s. So I was a caregiver too!
Granddaughter, diagnosed at 18months. Now four and a half. Doing well on her Tandem pump and Dexcom CGM.
I also have a 13 yr old type 1-
My child turned ten in April, and was diagnosed at 18 mos old.