Happy Mother's Day!
All the cheers to all the mommas out there!
This Mother's Day, we're giving shoutouts, far and wide, to the moms out there rocking their mom thing. And some of those moms, on top of all the incredible (unbelievable!) work they do already, are also balancing diabetes. Either they have it themselves, or they are taking care of a child (or multiple!) with diabetes.
Whatever the case, moms of diabetes are Superheroes. To celebrate all the diabetes moms out there, we're taking a quick look at some very #diabadass moms below.
Ginger Vieira
Meet Ginger: PWD since '99, author of four books (four!), and journalist for tons of online diabetes publications, like DiabetesStrong, Healthline, and Diabetes Daily (to name a few).
As if that's not enough, she's a certified Ashtanga yoga instructor and record-setting powerlifter.
And life coach!
On top of all of those phenomenal accomplishments, Ginger has two beautiful, healthy little girls. In fact, Ginger might as well be the T1D Pregnancy Guru!
In her latest book, Pregnancy with Type 1 Diabetes, Ginger highlights everything anyone could ever need to know when going through a T1D pregnancy. And everything comes straight from personal experience and success. 💪
“My chronic illnesses inevitably teach my children about bravery, strength and self-discipline.”
Phyllisa Deroze
Phyllisa is a type 2 patient advocate (warrior!) and blogger. She's been living with diabetes since 2011, the first person in her immediate family to be diagnosed with T2D.
Within nine months of her diagnosis, she was med-free, managing diabetes with diet and exercise. Her blog, Diagnosed Not Defeated, is dedicated to showing how one can still live a full, vivacious, healthy, life with type 2 diabetes.
Not only that, it also provides culturally-competent diabetes information from an African-American perspective.
She and her husband of nine years have a three-year-old daughter, who has living great-grandmothers on both sides of the family. For other moms with diabetes out there, Phyllisa says, "every woman who manages pregnancy and diabetes is a very special superwoman!" ⚡
"When I was pregnant, often it would be my daughter's kicks that would alert me to a hypoglycemic moment. She's been helping me manage diabetes from the womb."
Dionisia Sanchez
It was Dionisia's motherly feels and her Masters in Nursing background that eventually led to the type 1 diabetes diagnosis of her daughter, Rachel, in 1994. Dionisia (fondly) remembers waking up in the middle of the night to check Rachel's BGs.
In fact, she learned quickly to check Rachel's blood sugar by pricking her toes so as not to wake her up in the middle of the night.
There were no CGMs at the time, so Dionisia sacrificed her sleep each night to keep a vigilant eye on Rachel's overnight BGs.
Dionisia also made it a point to do as much research as she could, beyond the doctor's office, to make sure she was giving her daughter the absolute best available treatment — that same independent, resourceful spirit taught Rachel to fight & fend for her own diabetes management.
Total diabadass-ery passed down!
"Those first lows we had were a shock. But once we figured out how to get her BGs up, it was no problem. We just stocked up on Starbursts wherever we went!"
Nicole Johnson
Miss America '99. Author. Person with diabetes. Mom. The list goes on! After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1993, Nicole won the Miss America title just a few years later, becoming the first person with diabetes to be crowned Miss America.
Since then, she's traveled the world spreading diabetes awareness. Nicole gave birth to a healthy baby girl in 2006.
And, while she admits there can be struggles to a T1D pregnancy and motherhood with diabetes, Nicole says, “this mom is grateful for the examples, and the gift of an amazing child who can appreciate all of the lessons and opportunities for growth and compassion that diabetes provides.”
“I never expected my child to become my biggest diabetes cheerleader, but having her on my team makes all the difference in the world, and I’m so thankful she is a part of this journey.”
Mary Adams
It could've been her pharmacist side, or maybe the mom feels, or possibly a combination of both.
Whatever the case, Mary saw all the warning signs of type 1 diabetes in her 7-year-old daughter, Mary Elizabeth. And when the pediatrician wouldn't check her daughter's blood sugar, Mary found another way.
This PWD mom of 22 years has been finding other ways to tackle diabetes ever since!
During a family road trip, it was Mother Mary who saved the day when a cooler full of insulin was left on the edge of the Grand Canyon: she called up the local pharmacy, used her supermom magic, and got more insulin (vials for days 🙌) to cover the rest of their trip.
Hats off to this resourceful T1D momma. Mary, you're a #diabadass if we've ever seen one!
"My girl may have T1D, but it does not have her. I've made sure of it!"
