So anyway, picking up where we last left ,

After Susanne gave the hairy-faced tailgater the finger, we managed to make it to the wrong lab fifteen minutes after the time of our wrong appointment. Unfortunately, I suffer from the same reading comprehension issues that I did when I was in the third grade. I was just waiting for the receptionist to write in red marker, "Carey has trouble following direction," with a little sad face on the top-right corner of my paperwork.

The lab instructions I held in my hand very clearly displayed the correct name of the lab in big, bold letterhead.

We did eventually make it to the correct lab.

Maeve and Ben were being screened as part of the University of Florida's PANDA Study to see if the insulin-producing cells in their pancreas' are being destroyed.

Susanne and I were being screened as part of the TrialNet Natural History Study to see if we have auto-antibodies associated with a risk of developing diabetes.

Charlie? He went nowhere near the needle. For once, he got to watch the rest of the family go through the unpleasantness of having blood drawn. Something he does four times a year.

On this day, Charlie had a different role. He was the comforter. He offered supportive pats on the back and brought stuffed animals for Maeve and Ben to squeeze. Ironically, this included his panda named Manchu.

"You want to go next?" I asked Charlie as we watched Maeve squirm in the chair, begging for it to be over.

Charlie shook his head like a wet sheepdog.

"I don't need to," he said. "We already know I have diabetes."

The night before our lab visit, Charlie was practically doing back-flips in excitement. He repeatedly asked when we'd find out if we had diabetes with the same fervor as one would anticipate an upcoming Caribbean cruise.

"Charlie!" Susanne and I barked at the same time.

"I don't want anyone in the family to have diabetes," he said, "but I want someone to have diabetes with me."

"I want a diabetes twin."

The results come back in four to six weeks.