Tuesday’s topic: This year, Diabetes Blog Week and TuDiabetes are teaming up to bring out the poet in you! Write a poem, rhyme, ballad, haiku, or any other form of poetry about diabetes.
So here’s my entry, the first poem I guess I’ve written since my school days. Hope it’s okay.
A childhood all gone: a true story of Amy’s diagnosis and where we are now
Well she seemed very nervous perched there on the desk,
Softly saying some words which caused us distress.
A quivering voice made me see from the start,
These familiar words still broke the nurse’s heart.
My salt covered cheeks saw confusion elsewhere,
On the face of a girl who awoke free of care.
Nurses make you better knew the 10 year old girl,
But not what the next few minutes would unfurl.
“Will I die” asked the girl, of the nurse, sat in front,
Whilst the family’s throats all swallowed a lump.
“You’ll need to take insulin to make you feel right.”
“Just the once? No? What? For the rest of my life?!”
With the first meal arriving when six struck the clock,
“Who would you like to give the first shot?”.
The needle-phobic young girl said without any strife,
“I might as well start if I’ve got this for life”.
With injection two done she tried to sleep tight,
On pillows with tear stains she awoke feeling bright.
The nurses so calming got us through the day,
But with arms full of D kit we wanted away.
We couldn’t go yet though as we hadn’t been told,
How to give Glucagon if she’s ever out cold.
The training was nearby but well out of sight,
But that curtain wasn’t as soundproof as the girl would have liked!
The next few weeks all seemed quite fraught,
Trying to remember everything we’d been taught,
Of injections and testing at least four times a day,
How we wish we could take our girl’s pain away.
It all seemed too much, just how did we cope?
With support from our nurses and minds full of hope.
But we felt quite alone, no-one quite knew,
Just how much we had to prepare, carry and do.
We were eighteen months in before I discovered my rock,
In the PWD* who are known as the #DOC*.
They teach me so much and in so many ways,
And continually help to brighten my days.
Three years now have past and how times have changed,
We’re stronger and confidence runs through our veins.
The little young girl with her childhood all gone*,
Would turn out to be so incredibly strong.
* PWD is people with diabetes
* DOC is the Diabetes Online Community, found 24 hours a day especially on Twitter
* So her childhood’s not all gone as such but she’s been launched into a world of responsibility and worry way ahead of her years.
Beautiful poem. It reminds me of how my mom writes poetry.
Beautifully written, Kev!
I love it! Very beautiful!
Oh Kev we’re having a little weep here at DRWF!
Lovely poem, would it be ok to display it in our Clinic for children with type 1 diabetes to read?
Leeds Children and Young People’s Diabetes Team
SJUH
Sure. And you can meet Amy and me if you’re at the Lilly conference on Friday too
I cried pretty much all the way through this. Parts of it reminding me of myself being diagnosed at age 11. But I love the end – how you are all stronger and no longer alone.
Sorry about the tears Karen, I presumed when I wrote it that it was just hard for me to write, I never realised it would be so emotive for others. Remembering diagnosis days is a difficult thing for us all. Thank you for organising blog week and especially poetry Tuesday as without it I never would have written this and to be honest I enjoyed the experience of trying to write a poem for the first time in years.
I’m catching up with posts I missed this week and just came across this poem. It’s absolutely beautiful. I can never say I understand what another type of diabetic and his or her family go through, but today I can say I’ve probably come close because of your poem. Thank you for adding to my limited understanding. Amy is such a strong girl, something I’m sure she picked up from you and her family. (Now, how do I dry my eyes?)
Thanks for your lovely comments. If you want to dry your eyes definitely don’t read our diagnosis stories by instead read the Amy’s Chat Show article recently published
Wow, Kev – incredibly well-done! Thanks so much for writing this poem and sharing it with us. I felt like I was there, and felt a lump in my throat when reading through that “first shot” moment. Totally agree in how great it’s been to find that rock of the DOC, and especially this week it’s so much fun and heart-warming to see all the different takes and perspectives. Looking forward to reading more!
Thanks Mike for your kind words.