Hostility to a T1 child. Appalling.
Now I had a very rough pregnancy with him. I bled a LOT. The placenta would start to bleed, then a blood clot would form between it and the uterine wall. This threatened the attachment and any movement would start the bleeding all over again. When this happened, I’d be hospitalized and catheterized for a couple of weeks so that I could be as still as possible until the clot dissolved and the placenta reattached. (I lost count, but I think it was four or five hospitalizations. It’s all a terrifying blur to me now.)
I was on bed rest for six full months of the pregnancy. The dr. gave me magnesium to stop contractions. When we made it to full-term it was a miracle.
My son was diagnosed with T1 right after he turned ten years old. One of my friends, who knew how rough the pregnancy was sympathetically said, “Oh you poor thing! I’ll bet you wish you’d let nature take it’s course while you were pregnant.”
Uh... no. No, I don’t. Even if he dies at 30, his is a life worth living. He’s a very good person and there are many people who’s lives have been made better for having known him. He’s loving and friendly and the happiest person I’ve ever known. He keeps tools in his car just in case he comes across someone who’s broken down and, at least once a month, he manages to patch someone’s car/truck up enough for them to get to their destination. He’ll bleed for family and strangers alike. Last month, when a fire started in our valley, he was on the front lines with the fire-fighters, desperately trying to save our homes. (Incidentally, that inspired him and he just joined our volunteer fire department. he starts training in three weeks.) I’ve never met anyone who’s more in love with life.
And I think that part of that is because he knows that he probably won’t get the full 80 years.
I’ve always said that, in our family of four, my husband, daughter and I are the meat and potatoes. He’s the spice. We’ve all agreed that our family would be VERY boring without him as a part of it.
Sometimes it’s the shorter life that shines the brightest.
I believe that we agree to our lives before we’re born. G-d didn’t force us into our situations. And I think that those who intentionally agree to come here crippled, hobbled, slowed down - well, they’re the bravest among us. They’ve agreed to sacrifice to give *US* the opportunity to express compassion.
We should be grateful for their existence and treat them well. With that, our own souls are elevated.