Why did Nathan get it?

You have to ask the question...Why me? Or in this case...Why Nathan. I'm strong in my faith in God and believe there is a reason for everything. I don't think Nathan getting diabetes was a fluke. I think it was planned by God. But, I can find good in anything. I don't think it has been 100% revealed why Nathan got diabetes, but in time, I think we'll know for sure.

Right now I think it might have been to help Nic. Nic is Nathan's friend at school that has been diabetic since he was a toddler. Sometimes I think God gave Nathan diabetes so that Nic would have someone like him. Nic was the only diabetic in the school. Now he has a "friend".

Sometimes I think that Nathan got diabetes for a future career path/choice either for him or for me. Since his diagnosis, we have started to become involved with JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). As we have the chance to get more involved, I could foresee myself and/or Nathan doing more with diabetes education/work. Or maybe Nathan will become an endrochronologist. He's smart enough.

I already know we are educating a lot of people about diabetes. We treat our diabetes a little differently than many people. Nathan tests out in the open and in front of people all of the time. Kids especially want to watch and know why. We have the "explanation" down pretty well now. It is a rewarding experience seeing kids want to know why and understanding why. It's amazing the number of people with diabetes that "have come out of the woodwork" since Nathan was diagnosed. We had no idea these people (who we've known for quite awhile) were diabetic. They kept it hidden. I thought that was what we were going to do too, but since most of his friends knew, it was just easier to make sure everyone knew.

A few weeks ago, I was teaching my father how to change Nathan's site so that this summer Nathan can spend some time at their house. The whole family (my sister, brother in law, 2 nieces, brother, my mom and my dad) all gathered around to watch. They were intrigued. They wanted to know how it worked. We were glad to show them. So my advice for anyone who has a child who needs something special in order to live, don't try to hide it. Show it to others. Educate others. As humans we seem to be attracted to car accidents, medical emergencies, rescue vehicles. We always want to know what's going on. I don't think it's much different with Nathan and his diabetes. People want to know. They want to understand. You've heard of "the fear of the unknown". Let's take out the unknown. Lets all share it and make this world a more understanding (less fearful) world to live in.