Six Degrees

Prior to Blaine’s diagnosis I didn’t think I knew anyone with Type 1 diabetes. Since his diagnosis the following series of events happened:

· We learned that there were 3 other children at his school with T1. Two are his same age. One is younger, just finishing 1^stgrade. The younger one rides Blaine’s bus. All three of these children live in our neighborhood.

· Blaine’s pediatrician has T1. I thought he wore a beeper. Turns out he wears a pump. He called to check in on Blaine at the hospital, offer his support and let us know he’s on the board of Camp Kudzu, and to also let us know he is T1.

· Blaine’s good friend’s mother is T1. Again, I thought she wore a beeper. She too wears a pump.

· When I took Blaine to have a retina scan (since blindness is now a risk factor) our eye doctor let us know his son who is in college is T1. He spent extra time looking over Blaine’s scans and talking with us.

When I think about these things I know we’ve been relatively lucky. Blaine’s school nurse was very experienced with T1 management. Blaine, when diagnosed, already knew two other kids his age with T1. He has a friend whose mother immediately reached out to us. His pediatrician is T1 and reached out to us. His eye doctor understood why I made an appointment for my 10 year old to have a baseline retina scan. We’ve gotten more support than most I would imagine.

But, still.