“Inspiracon”

Inspiracon? What kind of crazy not-a-word title is this?! It came to me while in DC last weekend to attend the JDRF Government Days, which in fact was one of the most amazing and inspiring weekends of my life! So when I sat down to write this blog entry, the 12-years-of-Catholic-school girl in me needed to google the word to find out if I truly made it up, or if in fact it meant something totally different! And believe it or not, I found that some one else had already coined the phrase “inspiracon” with reference to his company and his logo. The concept was founded by pro-snowboarder Rob Kingwill. And so here it is: (from their website, linked below)

THE AVALON7 INSPIRACON

Our logo is called the Inspiracon. It is designed to inspire you to be in the flow and activate your higher self.

here is their motto:

ACTIVATE: 
THE ART OF LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT

The ACTIVATE Technique is a simple process that you can use to help manage conflict and fear.

It can be used in all areas of life, from snowboarding to business to your personal life.

The three principles are CENTER, FOCUS and FLOW.

ACTIVATE the three principles to help you to move through fear and conflict with grace and power by being present and mindful.

Follow this link to see the detailed outline of their concept: http://www.heartchasers.com/liveactivated.html

But back to JDRF and Government days…as I said earlier, it was an incredibly inspiring weekend! But more than that it was humbling and mind-blowing. And interestingly, I could now apply the above principle to my life as a parent of a child with T1D! The basics are this: Find your center, focus on your goal and go with the flow! That describes any T1D parent I know! Not by choice, but by the nature of the unpredictability of the disease, we must learn to approach each day this way, or we couldn’t keep our children alive!

Spending a few days in DC with people who have such resolve and focus on finding a cure to T1D is almost impossible to put into words, as I sat there on day one, listening to introductions of who these people were and what their connection to T1D was, I was overwhelmed, you see my son has T1D, but I also have two other children who are at higher risk to develop T1D because we know they have the antibodies, which basically means, they could be diagnosed, tomorrow, next month, in ten years, or never. It’s a heck of a way to live, as a parent, knowing that at any moment I could wake up and have 2 or even 3 kiddos who have to live with T1D, and I have always been able to convince myself, that God would never let that happen, but as I sat there and listened to person after person talk about their one, or two or three T1D kids, I almost broke, I was looking for escape routes, getting ready to bail, to run back to my tiny RI town where I could continue to live in denial and only secretly cringe in terror every time, those kids of mine asked for an extra glass of water or peed one too many times… But, then it was my turn, and as I stood up and looked around the room, I saw a group of people who already knew me, they could immediately empathize, they have been there, holding their breath, as they squat in the dark, next to their child’s bed and for the 10 seconds that feel like hours when the meter says “checking” they have prayed that the BG is in range and that they won’t have to give a shot or force feed a juice box to their peacefully sleeping child. It’s an instant bond. But more than that: Some of these are adults with T1D, they made it and they are ALL inspiring, successful, amazing adults with a resilience and a strength that only a survivor can possess! And I knew I was in the presence of greatness!

I am sure It sounds crazy to some of you, but as I looked around I knew these people are fighters, just like me they vowed on the day their child was diagnosed, they will not stop until this disease is cured, and hearing where the research lies right from the horse mouth, so to speak, was just awesome! As one mom put it, we were like teenagers at a rock concert, wanting to rush the stage, just for a closer look at the devices that will change the lives of our loved ones living with T1D. Knowing that these are the people advocating for a cure, telling their stories on Capital Hill, advocating in their own States and never stopping, always believing, always hoping is incredibly comforting to me as a sink back in to the day to day of life with T1D. I am so grateful for this experience and I only hope I can continue to make a difference for Matthew and all people living with T1D. I do believe that the day will come when he will say, I remember when I used to have diabetes!