Monson's experience is no exception;
Choose your love, then love your choice.”-Thomas S. Monson.
Choose your love and love your choice," Thomas S. Monson.
Monson sought a second opinion
and doctors diagnosed Brendan on the spot.
I need to talk to people to feel better about things,” Monson said.
Right away they whisked us off to the hospital to be trained,” said Monson.
The financial stress of treating Brendan's diabetes has also taken a toll on Monson's family.
Monson's family has good days and bad days,
but she said they try to make the best of things.
Monson created a Facebook page,“Parents of Type 1
Diabetes,” a group for moms, dads, and grandparents that is now almost 500 members strong.
As demanding as those early years were, Monson said parenting her son- and
controlling his diabetes- has only become more difficult as Brendan has grown older.
Even though it's torn our family apart at times it has brought us together because it's those
hard times that make us have more faith,” said Monson.
He recently asked to go on a
weekend trip with his Boy Scout troop, but Monson wasn't comfortable with him being away that long
without someone trained in diabetes care.
It's tough to know how much of the strain on their mother-son relationship is caused by diabetes and
how much is just a natural part of growing up, Monson said.
Monson, a 36-year-old nurse from Chippewa Falls, Wis., had started noticing red flags a
few years before, like shakiness before meals and frequent bathroom trips, but her pediatrician dismissed her concerns.
But for Michelle Monson, whose 13-year-old son has type 1 diabetes,
giving up control- and allowing her child to take his health in his own hands- comes at an especially distressing cost.
She estimated that they spend more than $10,000 a year out-of-pocket on supplies and medical care for her son,
and despite the fact that both Monson and her husband work full-time and have health insurance,
there is never enough money to cover the expenses.