Arden’s Aunt Megan organized a dress-down day at the school she teaches at to benefit Arden’s 2010 JDRF walk.  Megan tells me that it looks like the day will raise about $300 which is amazing but that isn’t why I’m writing about it here. 

I’m sharing this with you because I’ve just realized why Megan went to all of this trouble to help Arden - Megan is our type I babysitter, the only one that we have.  Without her Kelly and I would never get out. She is the person in our life that really showed an interest in understanding the nuances of managing type I.  Others help but Megan has made it a priority to understand the rest. What she is learning about Arden is setting her apart, one day Megan will cease being a remote hand that I direct from a dark movie theater and she’ll be able to make decisions about carbs and insulin on her own.  It takes time, patience and a big dose of bravery to take on the responsibility of watching Arden and we can’t begin to thank her enough!

What I didn’t expect when Megan first offered to learn about managing type I is this, she now knows what it really means to hold someone’s life in your hands all day and night and I’m guessing that knowledge was a big motivator for her to organize this fundraiser.  Megan walked a mile in our shoes, felt the abject pressure that is giving a child insulin at 1 am knowing that if it was too much she could very well die in her sleep.