Pay It Forward

We were sitting in a restaurant, just having ordered our food, and I pull out the blood sugar test kit and insulin.  There was a very large group at the table next to us, and at the very head of it, a woman who continually kept watch over ours.  I'm used to people taking a double take when I pull out a syringe.  It's nothing new.  If this wasn't my life, I know I would be doing the same.

As the large group began to stand up, say their goodbyes, and get ready to leave, the woman at the head of the table walked directly up to ours.  She smiled and said "I noticed you checking your daughters blood sugar.  My son has been a type 1 diabetic since he was a small child.  He's now a teenager, but we can remember everything just like it was yesterday".  Our conversation flowed easily.  She shared her experiences as a mother of a diabetic child, and I eagerly listened.  We were two complete strangers, but our diabetic world made us old friends.  We may never cross paths again, but I will always remember her kindness.  It made me wonder if I would be able to do the same if I was the woman at the head of the table.

Pay it forward.

After Sophia's dance class, I open the door to guide Sophia and Madeline out into the parking lot, and my eye catches a very familiar scene.  A very little ballerina, sitting on a chair, while mom  is testing her blood sugar.  I stopped in my tracks and steered the girls back into the dance studio.  I needed to talk to someone.

"I noticed you checking your daughters blood sugar.  Madeline has been type 1 since she was 2.". 

Had I not taken the time to stop, I would have never known that this little two year old girl had just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 2 months ago.  I would not have known that this new D-mom has many questions she would like to ask me.  Had I not stopped, Madeline would not have met another little girl that lives with diabetes.  Unlike the woman at the head of the table, I will see this mom again, every week, at dance class. 

We may be two complete strangers, but our diabetic world will make us old friends.