All I can say is that having 3 children with Type 1 Diabetes (and therefore dependent upon insulin for their very survival) - and myself with LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes Adult-Onset) - also dependent upon insulin to a lesser degree - I have become more aware and accepting of our dependence on God, which for me has been a good thing, albeit a hard thing. My children, having received their diagnoses before I received mine, have always been an inspiration to me for their courage, particularly my two who were diagnosed at the tender age of 2 1/2.
Oh my goodness. I can't imagine caring for little ones that young with diabetes. So tough. I'm sorry you've had to go through that, but how beautiful your witness of love and doing what it takes for them. Good job, mom! And thank God for insulin!
I've been listening to a designer baby debate this week, and so I'm curious: if you could edit the gene that "fixes" that in them, would you choose that as a treatment? (this is technically licit according to JPII, depending on exactly how it's done. So, assuming it's done in the ethical way).
Thanks, Samantha, for your kind words and encouragement. I won't deny it has been hard, but I think God used these diagnoses in my children and myself to shape me (and perhaps them) in ways that I've scarcely as yet unpacked. Only speaking as their mom, I can say that with the first diagnosis, it was the hardest. I recall breaking down into tears when the hospital staff were showing us how to calculate insulin doses, draw them up into a syringe, place the syringe into another vial without getting the insulins mixed in the vials- and make sure you don't get air bubbles in it. I also had a 3 month old exclusively breastfed baby at the time, and thank God the hospital permitted my baby and I to stay with my other daughter because it would have been more traumatic. With the 2nd diagnosis, I recall feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders, and my 2 1/2 year old son was riding a plasma car on a printed road on the rooftop of the hospital, not a care in the world, and how my heart soared wildly with joy at seeing him so. It was the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist, and all I could think was, "More of Him, less of me." The 3rd diagnosis was on Thanksgiving day, of all days. I recall checking my daughter's blood glucose on a hunch because she'd been sick, and upon finding it to be well over 500, calling the doctor and saying, "I suppose I need to bring her to the hospital, right?" When we got to the hospital, I remember having the thought that I could either succumb to the despair, or look around me and see what I had to be thankful for. I chose (somewhat subconsciously) to look around and find the things for which to be thankful, and I found so many of them. Would I edit the gene that "fixes" that in them? I'm really going to have to think hard on that. But here's a question I'll answer with: Would it involve taking away all the grace and growth that has come with these diagnoses?
Thanks Samantha for such valuable information on the threats to women’s health. I’m glad you also mentioned that men definitely fare worse than women when it comes to longevity. I’m wondering if this discrepancy would become more equal if the products and medical treatments that you point out affect women’s health, and the environmental and psychological threats that disproportionately affect men were reduced. I think we’d see both sexes living longer and healthier lives. Once again, thanks for your insightful article.
Thank you! One thing that I didn't mention in the article is that researchers believe that our sex hormones play a role in the differing outcomes. So, even if you were able to level out all the environmental variables, you would likely still get a disparity of outcomes. This isn't to to inequity in terms of justice, but just pure biological inequality. Men and women are working with different systems, and comparing them might just be comparing apples to oranges. But, there might be some interesting things we can learn about fruit in general but understanding the differences!
All I can say is that having 3 children with Type 1 Diabetes (and therefore dependent upon insulin for their very survival) - and myself with LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes Adult-Onset) - also dependent upon insulin to a lesser degree - I have become more aware and accepting of our dependence on God, which for me has been a good thing, albeit a hard thing. My children, having received their diagnoses before I received mine, have always been an inspiration to me for their courage, particularly my two who were diagnosed at the tender age of 2 1/2.
Oh my goodness. I can't imagine caring for little ones that young with diabetes. So tough. I'm sorry you've had to go through that, but how beautiful your witness of love and doing what it takes for them. Good job, mom! And thank God for insulin!
I've been listening to a designer baby debate this week, and so I'm curious: if you could edit the gene that "fixes" that in them, would you choose that as a treatment? (this is technically licit according to JPII, depending on exactly how it's done. So, assuming it's done in the ethical way).
Thanks, Samantha, for your kind words and encouragement. I won't deny it has been hard, but I think God used these diagnoses in my children and myself to shape me (and perhaps them) in ways that I've scarcely as yet unpacked. Only speaking as their mom, I can say that with the first diagnosis, it was the hardest. I recall breaking down into tears when the hospital staff were showing us how to calculate insulin doses, draw them up into a syringe, place the syringe into another vial without getting the insulins mixed in the vials- and make sure you don't get air bubbles in it. I also had a 3 month old exclusively breastfed baby at the time, and thank God the hospital permitted my baby and I to stay with my other daughter because it would have been more traumatic. With the 2nd diagnosis, I recall feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders, and my 2 1/2 year old son was riding a plasma car on a printed road on the rooftop of the hospital, not a care in the world, and how my heart soared wildly with joy at seeing him so. It was the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist, and all I could think was, "More of Him, less of me." The 3rd diagnosis was on Thanksgiving day, of all days. I recall checking my daughter's blood glucose on a hunch because she'd been sick, and upon finding it to be well over 500, calling the doctor and saying, "I suppose I need to bring her to the hospital, right?" When we got to the hospital, I remember having the thought that I could either succumb to the despair, or look around me and see what I had to be thankful for. I chose (somewhat subconsciously) to look around and find the things for which to be thankful, and I found so many of them. Would I edit the gene that "fixes" that in them? I'm really going to have to think hard on that. But here's a question I'll answer with: Would it involve taking away all the grace and growth that has come with these diagnoses?
That is all so heavy. Bless you and your faith through it all. That last question is amazing—the stuff that makes saints.
Thanks Samantha for such valuable information on the threats to women’s health. I’m glad you also mentioned that men definitely fare worse than women when it comes to longevity. I’m wondering if this discrepancy would become more equal if the products and medical treatments that you point out affect women’s health, and the environmental and psychological threats that disproportionately affect men were reduced. I think we’d see both sexes living longer and healthier lives. Once again, thanks for your insightful article.
Thank you! One thing that I didn't mention in the article is that researchers believe that our sex hormones play a role in the differing outcomes. So, even if you were able to level out all the environmental variables, you would likely still get a disparity of outcomes. This isn't to to inequity in terms of justice, but just pure biological inequality. Men and women are working with different systems, and comparing them might just be comparing apples to oranges. But, there might be some interesting things we can learn about fruit in general but understanding the differences!
Thanks for clarifying