Diabetes defines Algonquin family's new 'normal'

The Allen family is taking part in the JDRF Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes in Busse Woods.

Life with a chronic illness is often categorized as points before or after diagnosis. January 2006 became that line of demarcation in our family.

Before that date, we were college sweethearts 11 years into our marriage, thrilled beyond belief to be parents of a 2½-year-old son with baby number two on the way.

Life went from celebrating a new year with excited anticipation, waiting for the addition to our family, to a week's stay at Lutheran General Hospital learning about the new “normal” we'd be facing for the rest of our lives.

Long-standing phobias of math and needles would be taking up permanent residence in our family. These were uninvited guests that, along with Type 1 diabetes, would never leave.

Type 1 diabetes can be very isolating. Even after careful explanation, people often don't remember nor understand that it is not something a person can grow out of. They don't understand why you need to have nutrition information to try to accurately count carbohydrates. They don't understand why there is a need to eat at specific times when utilizing injections rather than a pump to deliver insulin. They don't understand why it can be perfectly acceptable for a diabetic to eat items that have sugar.

The hardest part of parenting a diabetic for us is the state of constant vigilance we live in. Setting an alarm clock for 2 a.m. each day to check our son's glucose takes a major toll. It is truly the sensation of having an infant that never grows up.

Having the opportunity to attend the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes is the annual activity that lessens the feelings of being alone, even if it is just for one day. We walk in honor of our son, Josh, who is and always has been the bravest person we know. He truly is “our hero.” He is an inspiration to so many people, as evidenced by the varsity soccer team from Crystal Lake South High School who will be walking for the fifth straight year as part of Josh's team.

This year will be the eighth for team Joshie's Posse, where we will be among the numerous families who live with the same types of challenges we do. There is camaraderie from this shared experience that sustains us through the ups and downs of living with this disease as we work toward life-changing research that will, we hope, result in a cure.