Friday, August 5, 2011

Mom, she injected herself!

Friends for Life Canada is always a chance for me to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.  One of my tasks each year is helping out with registration.  I love it because affords me the chance to meet people as they are coming through the door.  It always amazing to see how far people have come to connect with other families living with this disease.

Registration in Toronto this year was a pleasure. Everyone arrived at different times and we were able to make sure that their initial experience was a positive one.  We saw people from all over Canada, the US and even a family from the UK.  It was great to be able to put faces and families with names that we had interacted with online for months or even years as well as connect with new people. 

As I have said, my son is very private. He is not interested in sharing his diabetes experience with others. He hates being the center of attention and is often very shy when people who know me come up to him.  He is growing up however, and did interact with a few people and answer a few questions when asked. 

On Sunday, the conference drew to a close. I was exhausted after a very busy day.  My son was glad to see his bed after walking and site seeing with the teen group all day.  My exhaustion led me to the restaurant for food and drinks with friends before we all headed our separate ways for another year.  My son was more interested in bonding with the bed and TV than joining a group of adults. We agreed to meet at the elevators and I would take him to grab a bite to eat before I settled into dinner with my friends.

At the elevator, I met up with one of the families that we had spent a bit of time with over the past few days.  They asked if my son would like to join them for supper. I asked him and he said sure.  I was pleased that he would be spending time with a family that I had already had the pleasure of getting to know a bit as well.

From across the room, I watched their interaction. There was laughter and fun.  They had three children, one of whom was my son's age.  There seemed to be a connection.  As time passed, I was surprised to see that they were all still engaged and my son had not bolted to his room. Things were obviously going well!

Eventually the evening came to a close.  We said good-bye and hoped we would be able to keep in contact. When we were back in my room my son told me about his evening. He had had a great time.  He turned to me and said "Mom, she injected herself--twice!"  My son has been on a pump since he was five. Despite the fact that he should learn how to inject in case of a pump failure, its something that he has never done himself.  He was very impressed that this girl, who was a few years younger than him, had been so self-sufficient and done this on her own. 

I was impressed that he had noticed and said something. One day, perhaps we will get the chance to talk to them all again. They definitely left a wonderful impression on us and hopefully we left a positive impression on them.  Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate the opportunities for friendship that CWD conferences afford?
Four "Friends for Life"!

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