An Unwelcome guest

December flew by for us. In the midst of preparing for the State Robotics Competition, we were visited by the guest I never invite...... the stomach flu. Abby came down with it first. I Lysoled the entire house, isolated her for two days and kept my fingers crossed. It made its rounds regardless of my valiant efforts to send it away. Tyler fell 48 hours later, followed by me and Gigi. I have not been so sick in 20 years. It was a bad one. I knew that if Zac got it, we would be visiting the E.R. for sure. He cannot withstand 12 hours of this without Keytones forming.

Since Zac's diagnoses, I have struggled with fear of Ketoacidocis. His ICU stay upon diagnoses was so scary for me, I never want to revisit it. When he became lethargic and started vomiting, we feared his brain might be swelling. Luckily, he was fine and we got through that.

So, I have been living in fear of the stomach flu. For two years, I have been chasing the children around with hand sanitizer, avoiding places when it hits town and chiding the children for touching their faces. I just couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't live like that. It isn't healthy. So this year, when the flu seemed to pass around town for at least a month, I decided to relax. I mean, we just can't avoid all public places for two months. And quite honestly, I am happy we went through the experience.

Having a child with Diabetes has taught me so much about parenting in general. We think we are in control. Yes, we are responsible to provide the care, love, environment and resources for them the thrive, but the rest in God's hands. We will make ourselves crazy if we try to wrap them in a bubble. They must live life and make mistakes. For a while, we might fool ourselves to think we can control our situations and circumstances, but we cannot. So do what you can do and then relax. Easier said then done, of coarse.

When I came down with the flu, Rob was preparing to take the boys to Fort Wayne for the State Robotics Competition. I knew it was highly likely that Zac or Rob would get sick, while they were away. I told Rob to take the address of the hospital, some Gatorade and just go. In the past, I might have fretted and worried more about that decision. I was concerned, don't get me wrong. But I had to just let it be. And guess what? They did not get sick! They were able to participate in the entire competition for which they had worked so hard. God is so good.

About two days after returning home, Zac finally fell victim to the dreaded bug. But I was feeling well and we were home, where I could deal with it better. I was not happy about it, but this time I felt much more prepared than during our first experience with it, two years ago. We would both still have more to learn....

To Be Continued......