Can we be better caregivers? I guess. We can always be better. We were thrown into this diabetes life without much warning just like many of you. We were caregivers merely by having children, but care-giving on this level is a beast of another color.

On this day, six years ago, Charlie was diagnosed with diabetes. He was still slurping from a bottle. What is it about the fall? So many people are diagnosed this time of year.

The changing leaves. Halloween. Sunday football. Apple cider. Sweaters. Murder within the pancreas. All trademarks of autumn.

I was giving Maeve a bath when Susanne decided to take him to the hospital despite the pediatrician’s lackluster opinion on the matter.

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GLOBE SET TO GO BLUE FOR WORLD DIABETES DAY – IDF

Red states protest.

COMICS TO EDUCATE CHILDREN ABOUT DIABETES – Headlines India

I just flew in from Los Angeles and man, are my arms tired. How are you all doing tonight? What a good looking crowd we have here. Hey, this ever happen to you? So last night I’m getting intimate with my wife and things are going pretty good and my pump starts beeping like crazy … Shoot! Wrong set. Sorry kids.

THREE EASY TRICKS TO FIGHT DIABETES – Men’s Fitness

Vanishing woman

Levitating quarter

Needle through balloon

With everything else out there that allegedly fights diabetes, why not.

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In accordance with American Diabetes Month, dLife bloggers are focusing on how we can improve in different areas of our diabetes management.

Numbers. A decent one to us might be not so decent to you. It’s a matter of perspective.

The nurse couldn’t reach Susanne earlier so she called me at work to give me Charlie’s number.

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"This is the most sick I’ve ever felt," Charlie said last night, hugging the "puke bucket" so tightly you would have thought it was keeping him afloat.

He looked miserable, wanting so badly to just throw up and get the awful feeling out of his stomach. Get it over with. These are some of the most difficult times of being a parent of a child with diabetes.

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Acupuncture

I went to a health and benefits fair at work recently and talked to an acupuncturist. Our conversation went a little like this:

Him: I do have some patients with diabetes and I can tell you, we’ve seen some improvement from a combination of herbal therapy and acupuncture.

Me: Type 1?

Him: Yes, type 1.

Me: Type 1?

Him: Type 1.

Me: TYPE 1?

Him: YES, TYPE 1!

To his credit, he did have a clear knowledge of the different types of diabetes and he spoke of beta cells, theorizing that maybe they weren’t dead but rather asleep.

Imagine proposing acupuncture to Charlie.

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He stood in the doorway as I put on my shoes and lifted my jacket over my shoulders. He was wearing an "I Love NY" t-shirt and red shorts with his insulin pump clipped just off-center - tubing dangling haphazardly and looping like a roller coaster.

"In school we made these bowls out of clay and we took leaves and we pressed them down into the bowl …"

He spoke.

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