Five Years Later..........

Tomorrow we take to the roadways of Easton, Maryland again for the Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure....this will be the 5th year for us....the 5th year for the bike ride too.....we were there at the start of it.....and hope to see the end of it one day.......

Five years living with type 1 diabetes......I have to struggle in my head to remember what it was like before it entered our lives, when we were carefree and part of my brain and heart were not tied to the constant worry and questions. When it happened it was all at once, sudden, earth shattering and heart breaking.

Five years later - it is no longer earth shattering, we have gotten past the sudden and all at once - it has been enveloped into just being a part of our lives.

Five years later and still, at times, heart breaking - we see Allie struggle sometimes with being what she believes is different, having to pause her life (even for just a moment) to deal with a high or low. Heart breaking to think of her dealing with an incurable disease that requires constant monitoring and evaluation to ensure a long healthy life......forever.... Heart breaking because we know it isn't just her that is affected by this disease.

Five years later - we have met many new friends just like us. Families that were diagnosed before us that became our sounding board and families that were diagnosed after us.....we all have the same fears, the same struggles, the same amazing kids.

Five years later - and our family is stronger than ever. We embraced it as a family, we take from one another's strength. Mother, Father, Sister and Brother we are all here in this together - the bonds are deep and we want nothing more than to find a way through it together. Allie lives with it inside her body but each and every one of us carries it with us because that is what families do for one another.

Five years later and we do not let it stop us......it is a horrible thing, it is the one thing we have all agreed we are allowed to hate. But we don't let it be the reason we don't do everything we want - we still pull on our clothes each day, put on our soccer uniforms, pick up our flutes, study hard, play hard and laugh a lot, we will not let it change us for anything but the better.

Five years later and we are once again putting on our Red Rider Jersey, our Al's Pals T-shirts and heading out on the Ride for Allie's life......we will win this war for everyone but mostly for Allie because she deserves a life free of diabetes.

Until there is a cure...............................