My Hero, My Mom
What does it mean to be a hero? The dictionary defines a hero as a person who, in the opinion of others has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal. Heroes are great people that do great deeds and don’t expect an award or even a thank you. They would risk everything just to save someone else. They don’t care what happens to them. Heroes just want to save or help others. They can do unexpected and amazing things.
When most people think of a hero, they think of people like firefighters, police officers, celebrities, professional athletes, veterans and people currently in the military. And, yes, they are all great people doing great things, but what about the quiet heroes, those that normally go unnoticed by people?
My hero is my mother. I know most kids think their mom is the best, but I think mine is pretty special. Why you may ask. Why is my mom my hero? My mom does all the things a regular mom does like cleaning, cooking and shopping. But she also does something else that makes her my hero. My mom is a mom with a kid that has type 1 diabetes. That kid is me.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks your pancreas and the cells that produce insulin. You need insulin to process carbohydrates into the fuel your body needs.
My mom wakes me up in the middle of the night and treats me with juice boxes and candy when my blood sugar is low, and she waits for my blood sugars to come up. There is only about one night a week where my mom gets a full night sleep without low or high blood sugar alarms going off. She always lets me stay sleeping if I need to be rechecked after a low. When it’s time to make my lunches she counts all the carbs and measures out all my food. She helps me figure out how much insulin I need for my food.
She gives all three of us courage—me and my brothers, Trevor and Rhett. She’s really kind and generous. She is always really helpful when I’m nervous, scared, or feeling sick. She helps me change my pump and Dexcom and pays for all my stuff like the medicine and supplies I need to survive. She always tells me to not care what people think or say and just be myself. I think it’s hard handling my diabetes for my mom; she goes through so much to take care of me. I love her for that. I watch her every day do the stuff that she does to keep me healthy so I know what to do when I am older and how to stay calm in a big situation that appears out of nowhere. Especially when my parents aren’t around so I know how to handle it on my own.
These are the reasons why my mom is my hero. Now in my mom’s opinion she would say, I’m the hero. But she’s the real hero to me.
Read Type 1: Act 2 by Gavin Lewis.
