I took J.J. to the eye doc yesterday. Thought I would get a good record started for him. His eyes are very healthy....normal 5 year old eyes!!:-) Of course over time his eyes can degenerate quickly. So good control of diabetes is a must.
This particular doc has a machine that takes really good eye images....unfortunately they couldn't get a really good image because J.J.'s eyes are too small for this particular machine. He was able to see the retina, however, so at least we do have a record for that.
What was interesting to me was a question the doc asked. First, he asked me if diabetes ran in my family. I replied that it didn't. Then he asks:
"So how did he get it, then?"
My mind went wild with sarcastic comments. I realize the question came from ignorance. Most people really don't know that diabetes is an auto-immune disease. It's the body turning against itself and killing off the cells that produce insulin. J.J. didn't do anything to "get it", we didn't do anything to cause him to "get it". It isn't a communicable disease....he didn't "catch it". The realty is "it" just came.
These types of situations cause me to make a decision. Do I explain to this person the facts about diabetes, or just let it go? Is it worth my breath? Does the person really want to know? I liken it to homeschooling. I've dealt with misconceptions about homeschooling for 15 years. Most of the time I let it go. Don't say a word. There are times, however, that I do feel compelled to correct people because they are so off based, but most of the time I let it go. I guess I'll do that with diabetes. People have their perceptions, and I'm not sure I can change those in a short conversation. However, if I feel compelled, I'll correct......I'll just have to pick my battles.
As a fun side note......our chickies arrived this week!!:) Check out more pic's here!!
3 comments:
Cute Red Sox!
And, I do think when people ask, that it's okay to teach them. Just think, you may be saving one of us from having to respond to the same question.
Congratulations on the good eye exam. But that's too bad that the eye doctor doesn't know any better than that. I wish everyone could have my eye doctor. He discusses my diabetes with me every year when I go for my exam. He is very knowledgeable & was so happy for me when I got my insulin pump.
I have a difficult time when it comes to explaining diabetes to people. Some people are so good at doing that. For right now, I'm leaving it to them. Maybe someday, I'll be brave enough to give it a try. We do have to pick our battles, don't we?
BTW, the baby chicks are adorable!
Ahhh Lynnea,
You and I could have a whale of a time discussing how we get by explaining our sons' conditions, plus the fact that we both home school our kids.
I deal with the most outrageous comments..mostly I try to be sunny and friendly and take the time to explain, but some peoples attitudes are just so offensive that I have learnt to just zip my lip. As I have Lance with me a large majority of the time, I can't say what I REALLY WANT TO SAY!!! :S I don't mind telling people if they seem interested and pleased that they have learnt something new...Arg. I just wanted to say that we could walk in each others' shoes for a day and we wouldn't even notice the difference. (excluding JJ's 4 siblings and chickens of course.)
Take care, and I'm so happy that JJs first eye exam went well. :)
Big Love
Kate in Australia
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