Three Pairs of Shoes

Ya know when you're just sitting at work, trying to get some work done + a blog idea pops into your head + you've just GOT to write it down, before it dissapears? That's what happened today, the Idea Central portion of my brain went into overdrive(for a couple of hours) + in between the essentials of the job, I snuck down notes like crazy.

the first idea was a poem...

Walk a mile in my shoes
And you'll see
The most depressing of specialties.
A disease we cannot cure, or even prevent
Only treat.
Like the aftermath of a hurricane
Or the rubble from an earthquake,
It has no match, it respects no one.
The demands we place would fill a library,
but ultimately guerentees nothing.
Daily, the sorrows + pain from this disease
fill the hospitals
and the doctor's offices
and the jails
and the nursing homes
and the preschools all across America.
It is hard
to know what to do, what not to do, if anything is helping.
Seeing the pain, it is hard not to yell at your patients about their "bad" numbers,
hoping to inspire them to better control.
Walking a mile in my shoes, you'll see that they need more then that.
They need you, to be their
-sounding board
-advocate
-blank check on the bank of diabetes knowledge
-much more...
Without the judgement, they've got too much of that in their lives already.


Walk a mile in my shoes
And you'll see
A happy family.
Mother, father, sister, brother, baby.
Night time has fallen, bedtime is near.
Snacks all around, the shot, and the little boy toddles off to bed.
This little piece of innocence
Tucked underneath his Superman covers.
Nothing can hurt him, his is still a child's world.
A childish voice, breaking the stillness
"Mommy, when will there be a cure?"
A tear, quick catch to the voice
"Soon, sweetheart."
The love that tucked him in that night
Will keep him safe till that cure.
Walk a mile in my shoes, and you'll see
The love of a parent knows no bounds.


Walk a mile in my shoes, and you'll see
A seasoned veteran.
They are mothers, fathers,sisters, brothers, husbands, wives AND grandparents.
Masters of the 1 minute infusion set changeout
And the checking your blood sugar level on the crowded freeway rush.
Many a refridgerator have they cleaned out, in their most vunerable hypoglycemic
(low blood sugar)
moments.
Yet, when the shaking ends, they stand back up, and go about their lives.
20 years, 30 years, 50 years- an entire lifetime.
They live their lives with courage, dignity, and grace.
Walk a mile in my shoes, and you'll see
That the future still looks bright, they've helped make it so.