A Mother's Perspective: Polishing Off Juvenile Diabetes

My Strongest Wish

Ellen Day, independent Silpada Designs Representative, didn’t just read a few juvenile diabetes articles when her then fifteen month son, Jimmy, was diagnosed with the disease. She read every pamphlet, every magazine and every book she could find. It calmed her to know all she could about the disease that had suddenly shocked her family but saddened her to know the disease’s awful truths.

Inspired to find positive hope, Ellen’s search led her to a 72 year-old grandpa who had beat the odds and lived a long healthy life with juvenile diabetes. When she found her new inspiration, she begged to know, “What’s your secret?” The man replied with, “It was my mom.” Those four simple words from a stranger instantly inspired Ellen and her husband, Michael, to be the strong support their son and family needed.

Ellen first suspected something was out of the ordinary when Jimmy's personality changed. He was constantly tired, lethargic, and just not himself. Ellen and Michael knew in their hearts that something was wrong. Doctors said it was probably a virus, but then, on New Year’s Eve, a blood test revealed their greatest fear — Jimmy had a life-threatening disease.

“When we heard the news that Jimmy had juvenile diabetes, our safe and secure world became scary,” said Ellen. “The news stopped us dead in our tracks.”

Adjusting to their new family life was, admittedly, a struggle at first, but Ellen knew she couldn’t “dwell on the negatives.” She had to focus on what was ahead. “Of course, I wanted to pull the covers over my head. We hadn’t signed up for this, but we had to deal with our family’s new reality. My husband and I have four sons that we equally love. They’re our lives and our proudest achievements and one has a life-threatening disease. That is our reality. No, it’s not fair, but I’ve got to accept the cold-hearted fact that Jimmy’s pancreas doesn’t work and that, until a cure is found, insulin is a mere life support.”

Now Jimmy is eight years old and a very active and independent boy. “He is involved in various sports and, at any moment, can be caught doing superman dives on the couch,” said Ellen. “Just by looking at him, you’d never guess that there’s a war raging in his body, but there is. You’d never guess that he gets up to 10 shots a day or that we wake up four times during the night to check Jimmy's blood sugar level. But, that’s what happens. That’s what it’s like to live with juvenile diabetes. I just know that if a little boy can wage, so fearlessly, a battle against an unseen and unfair enemy, surely we can find that same spirit within us. I want my son, and everyone diagnosed with this silent killer, to be blessed with a cure and live even longer than that inspirational 72 year-old grandpa I was introduced to years ago. A cure is my strongest wish.”