It was April 9th, 2018 and we all were there pacing the halls of the hospital and waiting for the long-anticipated moment. It would be the moment that our little Max would finally arrive. And then it happened, he was here, and everything was perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, and the most precious little smile that only presents itself when babies see angels. What a perfect time.
Little did we know however that in just a short two years, something would go awry. Soon we began noticing something was wrong. Excessive thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss would send us back to the hospital where this time we would find ourselves pacing the floors again. What could it be?
We were given the news on July 1st, 2020 that Max was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. A flood of questions bombarded our thoughts. Is it something we did? Could we have prevented it? How did this happen? The word overwhelmed did not even begin to scratch the surface of what we all felt.
Whoever said, “time heals all wounds” surely got at least a portion of the healing process right. In time as a family, we all learned and are still learning to cope with Max's diagnosis. The greatest irony is that Max is the happiest, smartest little two-year-old you could ever want to meet. He is a trooper about having his fingers pricked and getting insulin shots throughout the day.
At first, it seemed that life had served us a real lemon, but we certainly have now made our lemonade. After we scraped our own emotions from the floor, we picked up the pieces and realized we were not alone. Now we had to figure out ways to help other parents through similar scenarios. There had to be a way we could use this experience to empower others, so here’s what we did.
Since the month of November is National Diabetes Awareness month Max’s Mom, Melody Martin made a decision to join the efforts of the JDRF (JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION). She pulled all her resources together and has formed a #TEAMMAX walk for a Cure. She is already superseding her financial goal for the Foundation.
As a grandmother, I never knew the magnitude of joy a grandparent could have until Max came along. With time I have learned to help medically manage his diabetes. But what more could I do? That question would be easily answered, and I did not have to look far. Since I happened to be the Founder and Executive Director of a children’s performing arts program the answer was in my hand.
I am currently in the process of writing a brand-new major stage production for my students to perform. The Play is called “SUGARBABY”. It will be an educational and entertaining play about juvenile diabetes and will be performed by the students of my nonprofit KIDDS Dance Project in November 2021. Ticket sales will support the JDRF.
Of course, Max will certainly be in the performance. Now as a team we can show the world that together we can all survive diabetes. No more pacing the floor just to kill time, lets pick up the pace now and work together for a cure.
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