Friday, November 14, 2008

His Voice









In honor of World Diabetes Day, and because this year's theme is again "Diabetes in Children and Adolescents," I'm going to step aside and let my son do the talking:





29 comments:

Jillian said...

Wow, I think Joseph has a extremely well balanced and honest outlook on his life with Diabetes. It isn't always good, but it's not always bad either. Thanks for having him do this, I think he expressed it all so perfectly.

By the way is that "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at the end? If so it's the perfect fit for this video!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love hearing him talk! I loved his "dia-betis" rant too. Tell him I agree 100%.

You already know this, but you have one amazing kid.

Tek

Sandra Miller said...

Jillian-

Thanks. And yes-- the song is "Over the Rainbow."

I think it fits, too. :-)

Tek-

So awesome to hear from you!

And I will certainly tell him what you said. :-)

Nicole P said...

Oh My God, I adore that guy.

This was just the perfect post for today, Sandra. I've missed you while you were away. I'm glad to be seeing more of you.

Carey said...

"You want a piece of this?"

Expressed perfectly.

What an amazing kid and an inspiration. You should be so proud. I'm sure you are.

Araby62 (a.k.a. Kathy) said...

My wish for Joseph is that someday soon we won't have a WDD to 'celebrate', because it will be gone. He put it perfectly: "Sometimes diabetes sucks!"

Layne said...

I just stumbled across this and that kid really reminds me of me. WOW. I was diagnosed with Type 1 at 8 years old and I'm 26. I don't remember what it's like not to have diabetes and I have to say that your son understands that part of me better than my husband! The words coming out of his mouth are exactly what I said to everyone when I was growing up.

Especially the part about being tired of always having to overthink every little decision about food, activity, etc. Let him know that there are people out there who get it and are in this boat with him. Rock on, kiddo!

PancreasMom said...

That was brilliant and he had me listening for the whole video... He gave me insight for my 6 year old who has it.. and your son has such a healthy outlook on it and truly spoken from the heart.

I love his attitude and I will show this video to my son... so he knows he is not alone...

Molly said...

Sandra,

Seriously! What.An.Amazing.Boy.!!!

You must be excited to watch what an amazing, talented adult he'll become, making changes in the world. He's already doing it at such a young age.

He speaks with a powerful voice.

Truth be told, when I was his age I would have said the EXACT same thing about a cure. "....wait until after next summer so that I can go to camp."

Thanks for posting. You are the bomb, Joseph!

Anonymous said...

He's grown up so much in two years and developed quite the sense of humor. We both enjoyed this video, but Greg has his own comments.

Anonymous said...

Ha! That was awesome.

I agree with him that diabetes is a dumb name. It should be called 'suck'.

Funny, when I was diagnosed I remember feeling more numb than anything. It was just kind of a matter-of-fact thing for me, I guess.

-Greg

Donna said...

He is so wise. What a great kid!

Anonymous said...

hi Joseph I watched your clip and now I understand a little more about living with Diabetes.Hey, type me back my e-mail is gubb810
Jacob

Scott K. Johnson said...

I hear you brother!!!!

Great job Joseph - thanks for doing the video!

Minnesota Nice said...

You must come to Minneapolis so I can wrap my arms around that wonderful boy!!!
Yes, it is very icky that Joseph has had to grow up so fast, yet, I could feel his strength and wisdom speaking directly to me, on a day I was feeling sort of down.
Mark my words, that boy is going to do great things in his life!

PS - chocolate doesn't do much to bring me up from a low either.

Bernard said...

Sandra

I'm just watching this now. Wow, Joseph does a great job of expressing what life with diabetes is.

Good job Joseph, keep up the work. And thanks for making me think about it again from a new perspective.

Chuck DeBruyn and John Rarrick said...

Hi. Really enjoy your blog. We made this PSA for World Diabetes Day in response to those awful spots being run by the Corn Refiners Association. Would love your feedback. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDNYod1OpDQ

Kerri. said...

Your son makes me feel stronger. Thank him for me. :)

(And I laughed out loud at "You wanna piece of this?!")

Tara said...

Wow, what a well spoken, mature minded son you have... Joseph, your words resounded with me the whole way through, from that ick feeling when you have already eaten too much and just want a piece of cake at the party through to diabetes not being your defining character... I truly believe that living with this disease day in and day out, as exhausting and irritating as it can be sometimes, makes us better, stronger, more resilient and understanding people... and you definitely show these characteristics here... :)

Albert said...

Thanks for giving us another peek of what it means to live with diabetes. I hope this video will help people understand and encourage those who need it.

Shannon said...

Hi! My name is Shannon and I live in Utah. I just did a search for other blogs about Type 1 Diabetes. My 4 year old little girl was just diagnosed last week. I feel SO overwhelmed, stressed, and that my life is consumed with counting carbs. If you have a minute, I would love to email sometime. This video that your son did was AMAZING! He seems so bright! I hope you don't mind, but I think I will check back again.

meanderings said...

Joseph is such an intelligent, bright and personable young man. The video is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

This was a really cool post!

Gianna said...

Sandra,
What a great, great video. I don't think I need to tell you this (everyone else already has anyway!) but Joseph is incredibly smart, articulate, and pretty damn mature for his age (but then, diabetes does that to you).

Joseph's description is spot on and sounds a lot like my own experience with diabetes when I was a teenager. After ten years I'm still learning to live with it. I think it's taken about that long - a decade - to really begin to make peace with the idea of living with diabetes as a relatively health person. God forbid I ever experience any bad complications and have to learn to live with diabetes in a whole different way, but we will cross the bridge when we come to it.

I am going to share this post with others if you don't mind.

-Gianna

Val said...

Sandra -
Just geting around to watching this now on a day off - playing video from work probably worse than covert surfing ; ) Really, really great post.

Joseph -
Two thumbs up! I laughed, I cried, I couldn't agree with you more! And yeah, I get really angry too when I check in at 500 before that dessert I really wanted. You are amazing!

Anonymous said...

I love the video you and your son made. It is fabulous. And I love you son. He said it all!

Diabetesmother (new to all this)
www.diabetesmother.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I am 12 and was diagnosed a month ago. Yeah it sucks, but I think all kids can agree on a couple things...

camp rocks!!
Diabetes brings us closer with the people who we love
And we have a more honest and positive outlook on life.

Thanks for the video!

Alice said...

What can I say, I have a seven year old daughter with type 1, and I can't wait to show her your video!
Thank you so much Joseph for taking the time to do this.

Lori- The Incredible Mr. Sweets said...

How many years ago was this?! Part of me believes you posted this for me tonight. THANK YOU! Awesome kid! ....I'm gonna watch the next set of video now.
Great insight into what my little guy (4yr) feels right now during highs. I know it REALLY bothers him ... just didn't have those words! THANK YOU - even all these years later.