Lucila, Ana's Mom

My name is Lucila, and I have a 14 years old daughter with type 1 diabetes. My daughter was diagnosed when she was three years old, so we have been on this road for more than ten years.

During all these years we lived in Brazil, Mexico, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. I can’t remember the number of endocrinologists that I visited. I had to learn how to explain to them what has happening in different languages, usually not in my own, and many times the same happening with the doctors, nurses, dieticians…

I was alone with my husband when we had to deal with all the hard moments of having a diabetic toddler that couldn’t express herself, because our families were too far to be able to help.  

During all this journey, and until now, I’ve always felt very comfortable around other parents of kids with diabetes. I don’t need to explain why I’m so tired, why I had a bad night, or why I’m so happy with a straight line.  They just get me.

And there is always so much to share. So much to learn.

First I had to deal with all the toddler’s issues, and now I’m dealing with hormone changes and teenage blues. My daughter just got her ten-year medal! That was amazing! Nobody said it was going to be an easy journey, but we can also have some laughs together!

The idea of this blog began a long time ago, when I first moved to Abu Dhabi and made some friends who had kids with type 1 diabetes.  We began to organize periodic coffees with their kids, and we realized after each meeting that there was always a lot to learn from each other.

Simple questions like:

“Oh! Can I see your pump?”

“Where do you use your sensor?”

“How do you calibrate the sensor? I’m getting bad readings…”

“For me is the insertion is very painful… what do you do?”

Or more everyday questions…

“Does your kid have sleepovers? How do you manage that?”

“How do you manage fieldtrips?”

And the questions kept coming, and sometimes they are more personal:

“Ouch, today I’m having such a bad day, and I forgot to change the pump site (or I forgot to give the insulin…) – Am I a bad mom???”

AND THAT IS HOW JOURNEYS WITH DIABETES MOM  was born.

The idea here is to support our kids, and to teach them to walk on their own feet.

We can help each other, exchange information. The goal is not to to bring you information that you are interested in, and to discuss useful topics.

Here are some of the things that I’m planning to write about:

-School management

-Sleepover / fieldtrips / Camps

-Travel / airport / jetlag

-New technologies

-Pumps / sensors / insulin

-Sports / diet

-Support Groups on the Web

Please post your questions or leave a comment. I will be happy to try to talk to you!

We are not alone!

Lucila