How I spent my summer vacation

How I Spent my Summer Vacation

By Frank Wise

So, I've been planning my vacation for several weeks. My daughter goes back to school on the 16th, and my wife has been home with a 7 year old and a 2 year old for 6 weeks, and I was looking forward to giving her a break. My son is also going into the hospital on Thursday to have tubes put in his ears. We didn't have major plans, just a basic "Staycation", but it was going to be fun. But life being what it is, things aren't quite going to work out the way I had planned.

2 weeks ago, my wife noted some changes in my daughters behavior. It started off with an unquenchable thirst, and a lot of bathroom breaks. She started looking up symptoms on the internet. Then she made an appointment with her pediatrician. We knew the prognosis before going in, but that didn't make the verification any easier. My daughter has type 1 diabetes. She was admitted to the hospital on Friday night, and we will be here at least through Monday. This has been a life altering event for all of us. This will be multiple injections of insulin, everyday, for the rest of my daughters life. But she feels better, and she is in good spirits. She is a very strong little girl. And I am very glad I am off on vacation this week.

There is a moment of clarity when you realize your life, and your families life, has changed forever. If you accept it, it is soothing. If you harness it, it can be inspiring, if you always remember it, how can it not be positive?

The above pictures were taken while we were at the Baldwin Park Kaiser hospital. The image right above was taken after she had her insulin, and an IV. Then it was off in an ambulance to the Sunset facility.

These images were from Friday night. Eventually, she was done having me take her picture, as you can see. Saturday was a better day. We walked around, found a foosball table, and had a visit from Bruin, the Havanese service dog.

Bruin was a big hit. We are in good spirits. My daughter will be fine. I thank everyone for all your wonderful words, thoughts and support. Now, if only the shots were getting easier, because this sight breaks my heart:

I hope to see you all soon. But know that I won't be in school on Monday. There will be a class though, so please plan on attending. And I may not be as responsive to emails or phone calls, but I'll try.


My daughter is a fighter, and this is our theme song



And as a reminder to myself