Welcome!?!!

I was asked to write a Welcome letter (of sorts) to be included in a JDRF brochure that will be placed in the waiting rooms of our local Children's Hospital Endo/Diabetes Center, as well as, adult Endo offices. This brochure introduces the reader to JDRF and the new Mentor program. Before I started writing I had to stop and think. I didn't want to be so upbeat that I was channeling my inner cheerleader (yes, back in middle school) and welcoming them to diabetes. It's not like they won the lottery....whoo-hoo!! Welcome to diabetes!! Glad to meet you!! Truth be told I DO get excited when I meet another diabetic family...(maybe a little too excited). I get the urge to want to give them all my years of experience in one conversation. 

Which is ridiculous. 

I know. 

Maybe I need to go to a D-Mom Anonymous meeting...   

One the other hand,  I didn't want to be all Emo (never was) and pull the diabetes sucks, it's a horrible disease, you'll never sleep again, you'll be able to recite the carb count in every food item better than the Calorie King app, whoa is me, etc., etc. 

I needed to find a gentler approach. 

An "I know how and what you are feeling but it'll be okay".

So this is what I came up with: 

 First of all, I want to let you know, you are NOT alone. I know you may be confused, scared, angry or uncertain and please know it is okay to feel this way. You see, I know how you feel.  Our daughter, Nora, was diagnosed at age 4 with Type 1 Diabetes in 2005. Then in 2012, we received a second T1D diagnosis; our eldest daughter, Evelyn, just 5 days before her 18^th birthday. The first call I made in the hospital back in 2005 was to JDRF. I needed to connect with someone who had been through what I was going through. I was contacted by a Mentor when we arrived home. Even though I hadn’t grasped diabetes fully, my Mentor was there for me with any questions or concerns I had. We signed up for our first Walk to Cure event in the Fall of 2005. It was from then on that JDRF became an extension of our family. I have met some wonderful families with children living with T1D. I have met some amazing adults that have been living with T1D for years. My daughters have met other diabetics their age who have become lifelong friends. And we’ve met them all through JDRF. I know you may be feeling overwhelmed right now and this may all be too much. I respect that. Just know, when your ready, there is a whole diabetic community that is out there ready to welcome you with open arms. Please feel free to contact the JDRF office with question, concerns or just to find someone who gets what you are going through.

Just know, I was shaking my blue pom poms as I was writing this :)