Not all support groups are organized, and not all T1d support groups are held in a strip mall with chairs in a semicircle with crappy refreshments. A great example is my T1d support group that consists of about 10 people who aren’t in my immediate family! Three adults and 7 people around my age, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy or complicated. Your T1d support group should just consist of people you trust. 😀
My T1d Support Group
The Adults
Everyone has support. You might not know it, but it’s there. I promise it is. You might not see it or feel it all the time, but it is there. It could be your family or those certain friends that you choose as family.
It’s important to surround ourselves with people we can trust. And trust me I KNOW that’s easier said than done. But, once we find those people you will know it. I can name three people right now who are people I trust that are not my immediate family, but they are adults I trust. Those people would be my Youth Pastor, Ms. Q (aka one of my bestie’s Mom), and my adopted grandad, Pawpaw Joe. You might be asking why these people? And that is an easy question to answer.
These people have been there for me when I was at my lowest. Without saying anything about my situation, I know I could call any of these people, say ”I need your help,” and they would be there for me. These three are the first three I wanted to know when we launched this site. They were also the most excited about the site! [That made my day!]
Ms.Q immediately read through the entire website. She helped us find links that weren’t right yet, typos my dyslexic brain didn’t catch, and said she thought it was really good! That meant a lot coming from her.
Pawpaw Joe was the second to know. He’s not a huge fan of the internet, so next time we saw him my mom handed him her phone with our page open. Once we explained what it was, his first reaction was to hug us both and telling us how much this was gonna help so many people! Pawpaw Joe is one of the most Christ-like people I know. If you ever need anything he is going to be there. He was one of the few people out of our immediate family that we allowed to come to see me in the hospital. That’s why I wanted him to be among the first to know about this website.
My Youth Pastor was one I was most excited and nervous to show. One of the reasons we got so close was the fact that when he was younger he went to the exact same endocrinologist for similar reasons as me, not to mention he played electric bass (like me), and was just absolutely awesome! The Wednesday after we did a soft launch I waited until after the service, gave him a SweetT1d.com sticker, and told him about it, HE WAS SO EXCITED!! It made me so happy. He’s always been someone I looked up to, so for him to be that excited meant so much!
Sometimes your T1D support group doesn’t even need to talk about T1D
I know I have amazing friends I can trust. I have about 7 people around my age that are always there. These people always know how to make me laugh, or know the latest about just about anything I like. They’re people who have grown used to the beeps and buzzes. They’ll still check up on me to make sure I’m not about to pass out but it’s never asked in a panicked way. It’s more like, “Hey- you okay?” or ”Why’s your pancreas yellin’ at ya?” They all say it in a way that it’s funny, not condescending. These 7 people make me feel normal.
T1d Support groups don’t have to be big and fancy, they need to make you feel seen and safe. With everyone of these people I feel seen and safe. And I know, when I feel like everything is crashing down around me, I can lean on these 10 people without question. There’s a reason God puts these people in our lives. Even when you don’t see the way your life is moving, there’s a bigger plan for you than you know!
I hope with this website we can become one of the people in your T1d support group, one of your friends, and one of the people in your arsenal of people cheering you on! In the incredible words of, For King And Country,
”Gracious in the fight of it
Humble at the height of it
Choose to love in spite of it all
And when you’re questioning the why of it
Rise up in the light of it
I’ll be by your side in it all
I’m cheering you on”
Congrats on making it through my Ted Talk! Here are some other awesome posts to check out and some amazing other ways to find people with T1d!
Cya later alligator, – Milly
https://beyondtype1.org/snail-mail-club/
Diabetes Questions and Answers for Kids: Easy Explanations
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