Give me a D… Give me an I…

I was able to spend part of this past weekend in Nashville with friends … a much needed escape after the week I’d had. One of my half-pint D-friends cheers on her school’s squad, and the team was part of a competition in Franklin Saturday morning. Along with her family and some friends, I headed to Nashville so I could watch her compete.

Megan and I are friends because we both have diabetes. We met through JDRF and Hot Shots, and her mother and I have become close friends. I often sit with them during church, and I eat lunch with their family every Sunday. They are some of my favorite people in Huntsville, and I’m so thankful to call them friends. Megan is 8 years old, and she was diagnosed two years ago. She wears a pink Animas pump with a pink and purple skin. (We’re also pump twins because I have a pink Animas pump, too.)

I usually wear my pump on my bra — for several reasons. For one, it conceals it and diabetes is not the first topic of discussion. (Although clearly, I don’t mind talking about D.) Secondly, it doesn’t always mesh with my clothing, so by hiding it, I don’t have to worry about bumps or ridges or weirdness under my clothes. And thirdly, my middle name is not grace. I am notorious for running my pump into a wall or a chair or a counter. Turns out, pumps are expensive to replace. I’ve also been known to lose a site or two thanks to doorknobs and other random things protruding from walls, doors, closets and cars. (Don’t get me started on pump tubing and seatbelts.)

But when I’m around some of my halfpint D-friends, they want me to wear my pump visibly so we all look the same. Of course, I always oblige. Before leaving the hotel Saturday morning, I asked Megan if she wanted me to wear my pump out like her, and she said yes. I concealed my pump under my shirt to grab breakfast and coffee at a Starbucks with the plan to clip it on my hip when I arrived at the competition.

As we took our seats, Megan’s mom said she was going to take her pump off during the routine, but she wanted to leave it on since I was showing mine. **heart swelling** So I quickly retrieved my pump and clipped it proudly on my jeans. Looks like you really can do anything with diabetes — even cheer, be hoisted in the air and flip backwards across a gym mat.

I’m so proud of this little one. She’s so courageous and each day, I see her take more and more responsibility for her diabetes care. She often inputs the numbers and dials up her dose in her Ping meter. She knows to count carbs and read labels, and she doesn’t ask why. She just does it. It’s difficult to see kids go through this, but I’m so proud of Megan. Each day, I see her growing into a young woman, capable of taking on the world with her pink pump clipped to her hip.

And lucky for me, I know two other half-pint cheerleaders with D here in Huntsville. They are an inspiration, a source of encouragement and at the end of the day, the biggest reason I’m an advocate. But just think, if all three end up at the same high school, it will be weird to NOT have a pump peeking out from under your cheerleading uniform. Rock it girls!