Guest Post: Sorry.
Today, I have the honor of hosting a guest post from Scott Kasper, photographer extraordinaire and parent to three little boys, two of which have type 1 diabetes. He offered to share a diabetes moment he and his family had over Superbowl weekend, which I'm proud to share here.
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We are a family of five … a mom, a dad, and three awesome boys aged 12, 10, and 6. We love to do all the stuff that every family loves to do. This weekend was packed with snowball fights, snow men, fire in the fire place, hot chocolate, movies, the Super Bowl, and of course the family board games … fun for all ages!!!
Sounds pretty much like a normal, par for the course white picket fence family in suburban New Jersey doing what most normal families do … right? Well, for the most part that may be true. However, there is a big disclaimer that makes my family a bit of a departure from most others. Two of the three boys have type 1 diabetes. That means, for us, the six year-old’s blood sugar crashed half way through the snowball fight, the twelve year-old gets mad when he has to count his carbs as he grazes the treats at the Super Bowl Party, and the ten year-old (who does not have diabetes) complains that he is tired of having to have sugar free hot chocolate!! Oh, and then there is the board game…
This weekend the kids decided that they wanted to play Sorry™. Okay, that’s fun enough, and doesn’t last all afternoon the way monopoly does. Mom was reading a book (if you can still call it a book when all one does is scroll from page to page on the Kindle™), Dad was available, and it’s a game for four players….perfect!! Not exactly. One of the things my kids like to do most is NOT put stuff away when they are done. As it relates to Sorry™, that means that there are no green pieces left.
“That’s okay Dad”, pipes up the six year old, who has had type 1 diabetes since the age of 13 months. “I know what we can use!” Off he went toward what we refer to in our home as “The Cabinet,” where we have a veritable pharmacy of diabetes supplies. Within moments he returned with four cone shaped objects, just the right size to substitute as a Sorry™ game piece. It did not strike me at first, but as I got my first turn I quickly realized that the pieces he had provided were, in fact, packaged needles for the insulin injector pen.
Photo by Scott Kasper
We are a family of five that is, in large part, defined by type 1 diabetes. I have seen it impact every aspect of our lives. About this, my wife and I are very sorry! We’re sorry that two of our boys have to grow up with the daily complexities of life with diabetes. We’re sorry that my middle son wonders whether he will ever become diabetic. We’re sorry that, perhaps, something we did or something we genetically passed on has caused this to happen…on a daily basis we are sorry!
This weekend, without even missing a beat and without realizing how NOT normal this is, my six year old resorted to using insulin injection supplies to play a board game … not just any board game … a game of Sorry™!
How ironic is that!
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Thanks for sharing, Scott! To check out more of Scott's amazing photography, visit his website (and you can also become a fan on Facebook). And if you're looking for a classy medical ID, visit the website of Scott's wife, Rachel, at RescueMeIDs!
Comments
Enjoyed reading that very much! =)
Posted by: jaimie | February 10, 2010 10:00 AM
Thanks Kerri! I'm truly honored to be a part of your Blog!!
Posted by: Scott Kasper | February 10, 2010 10:15 AM
Made me giggle... Great post. Thank you.
Posted by: casey | February 10, 2010 10:15 AM
This was a great post. You have a very creative six year old. I don't think mine would have thought about that.
Posted by: Jennifer | February 10, 2010 10:16 AM
As a parent, I know the feeling of sorry, but luckily not to this extent yet. I pray often that my young daughters don't get the "sugar" as my 94 year old gramma would say. I just cringe at the thought of a 13 month old with diabetes. Raising kids is hard enough at such a young age, add diabetes and it must be overwhelming.
I have to hand it to your son that was pretty ingenious to use the pen needle tops.
I'm sorry that families, young children and all of us in the D-OC have to deal with this disease. We need a cure. I'm all for companies developing products to help us manage diabetes better, easier or less painfully, but that's just slightly lessening the pain.
Thanks Scott for sharing your story!
Posted by: Tony Rose | February 10, 2010 10:23 AM
What a beautiful story and photograph. Thanks Scott and Kerri!
Posted by: Sarah | February 10, 2010 10:40 AM
Was this post written for your blog Kerri? Do Scott or Rachel have a diabetes blog? It would be nice to connect...I know a little about boys and multiple diabetics too. :)
Beautiful post!
Posted by: Meri | February 10, 2010 10:55 AM
What a wonderful story, Scott. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Khürt L Williams | February 10, 2010 10:55 AM
What a great post and a great family. Thank you for sharing Scott!
Posted by: SuperG | February 10, 2010 11:39 AM
This is a great post. Thanks so much for sharing it, both Scott and Family and passing it on through Kerri. I've joked about using D-supplies as gamepieces in the past for monopoly and other board games, but we haven't actually done it. Of course, kids are more creatively fun than I am! Way to make it a part of the "fun time," regardless of the "sorry" fact that we have to deal with it at all.
Posted by: Michael Hoskins | February 10, 2010 11:42 AM
As always, Scott tells his family's story with beautifully chosen words, spectacular photography, and a heart of gold. They all are special people and we're so proud, in the family, of all the positive work they do to enlighten the world about this epidemic.
Posted by: Beverly Kaye | February 10, 2010 11:53 AM
I am an intern for JDRF (South Jersey Chapter) and Scott is on our Board of Directors. He e-mailed us this piece yesterday. Beautifully written and very touching!
Posted by: Michelle | February 10, 2010 01:19 PM
Love seeing a fellow photog! And I love the honesty. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: amy free | February 10, 2010 04:19 PM
Hi Keri..
Great post. Scott told me to come over and check this out. I met him on Flickr. I was glad to meet someone who also had two kids with type one. He did a great job, and a very touching story!
Love to see others and how they deal with just ordinary life living with diabetes. I will be back.! Nice blog.
julie
Posted by: julie Anne Browne | February 10, 2010 06:22 PM
I can't decide if this makes me want to smile or cry. I'm definitely leaning more towards crying, but what a great spirit that child has!!
Posted by: Anonymous | February 10, 2010 09:05 PM
Awesome post! Things like this can be funny and sad at the same time
Posted by: Brigit | February 10, 2010 09:14 PM
Sending hugs and prayers to your family, Scott. As a mom with Type 2 diabetes, I can only imagine what it must be like to watch your children deal with diabetes. Bless you all!
Posted by: Sue/RFamHere | February 10, 2010 09:16 PM
Too cute!
Posted by: Sarah | February 11, 2010 09:24 AM
Hello Kerri
Crazy way of saying I'm enjoying your blog (email not working through your blog -- my Mac's problem, not your site's!), so I'll understand if this doesn't get up in the comments...
Just wanted to touch base. My son was diagnosed in Nov 08. I'm an American writer living in the UK (also uni lecturer in creative writing), blogged for about 2 years, then stopped soon after his diagnosis. I've just started another one, with the added bit of dealing with T1 in the family.
There is so much more 'out there' than even 15 months ago, when I first looked. But the purpose of my blog is to 'be there' for parents/carers and others who are interested in family/art and chronic illness. Etc. I also want to raise the profile of the pump esp., as it's only now rushing upon the UK...
Anyway. Just wanted to say hello. Great to read your blog, and all about your other good work.
Best,
Patricia
Posted by: Patricia Debney | February 11, 2010 12:09 PM
Awesome family! Scott you and your wife are awesome! Thanks for sharing, Kerri:)
Posted by: Cherise | February 11, 2010 09:43 PM
I've used the needles for missing pawns in chess games- they're a good size. If you have different length needles, you even have different colors!
Posted by: Jonah | February 11, 2010 10:01 PM
OMG - this made me laugh out loud at work. Love the ingenuity of kids, and now I know what we can use those things for since we've switched to the pump ;)
Posted by: Michele | February 12, 2010 04:48 PM
Game day rocks!
I have no Clue how people live without playing with their kids. It Boggles my mind that some let their Careers have a Monopoly on their time to the exclusion of their family. I think that is taking a big Risk. Apples to Apples I think in the hard Scrabble of Life there is no bigger Payday quality time. Screen off. No Solitaire. No big Cranium Alien from Star Trek is a Mastermind of a better way to value children that investing time. It is no Trivial Pursuit.
Yes diabetes is a pain. It wants to play its own mind games. The worst is guilt. - that is a Looser. Don’t step into that Mouse Trap. As for the pen needles as game pieces. I am thrilled improve and a light heart about the D stuff is something your kids managed to Acquire. I wish I could have Scene It. That was brilliant.
Posted by: Bennet | February 13, 2010 01:14 PM
Great guest post! Thank you Scott for that great story. The power of irony and ingenuity was wonderful.
Thanks Kerri for introducing us to Scott!
Posted by: Scott K. Johnson | March 3, 2010 01:01 PM