Thank you. Thank you for putting up with me when I was 5-years-old and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Thank you for putting up with me convincing you to buy me jelly beans on the way to the hospital and absolutely infuriating the nurse. Thank you for telling me everything was going to be okay in second grade when I told you I had been lying about taking my shots because I was so scared, or because I lied about my blood sugars because I didn’t want to disappoint you. Thank you for being there for me when I was hospitalized for ketoacidosis. Thank you for being there for me from my first seizure to my ninth. Thank you for being there for me when I had to call out of classes in high school, and for when I dropped out of my first quarter of freshman year of college to go back on an insulin pump.

There have been ups and downs in my life from the moment I was told that I had lost most, if not all, control over my body. You were there for me when I was crabby and mean and snappy, even when you didn’t deserve it. You were there to get me water when my blood was high, and starbursts when it was low. You sat me with me in the middle of the sidewalks just to wait for my blood to go up, or go on walks with me so that it would go down.

Mom, you are my rock. You have helped me go through doctor after doctor and never gave up on me no matter how many of them tried to blame me for my lack of control. You were never angry at me when my mood was out of whack, nor when I wouldn’t shut up because I tend to babble on when my blood sugar gets too low. I will never forget you coming to my elementary school every single day during your lunch break just to check my blood. Even though I ran away from you every single time without fail, don’t think that it went unappreciated. I appreciated waking up from my seizures to see you sitting right by my side. I appreciate you sitting and crying with me whenever it felt like my world was coming down on me. I appreciate you always being willing to wake up at 3 a.m. if anything was ever wrong. I appreciate you taking my incessant phone calls while I’m away at college and helping me cope with my anxiety. I appreciate you.

Dad, you may not know as much about diabetes as you should, but that’s okay. I don’t blame you for it. You know enough to make me feel comfortable. You are the reason I feel safe at home. To know you are just a phone call away and would hop on a plane to come to Michigan in a heartbeat if anything was wrong makes me feel at ease. Thank you for going on walks with me at 3 a.m. for three days in a row because I was so anxious and couldn’t sleep. Thank you for making sure I was safe when I had my (hopefully) last seizure in 4th grade. Thank you for buying me loads and loads of cheese crisps because you knew that I couldn’t eat anything else at the time because my blood sugar was too high (okay Dad, I didn’t need TEN boxes though). I know you think I hate it when you come and check on me in my room all the time, but I know it comes from a place of fear and anxiety, and it doesn’t go unappreciated.

I have spent practically my whole life fighting this disease and I would be nowhere without the two of you. Nearly 16 years later, I am proud to say that I have my diabetes in the most control I have ever had it in and I would have never been able to get here without the loving, caring, undying support of you two. Whether I am 3,000 miles away or just a bedroom away, I know you will both be there for me, and that shows me just how lucky I am to be here today. Thank you.