It’s Not That Bad
When we left the hospital after our son Liam was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, we swung by our local pharmacy to pick up the supplies that we now needed to keep him alive. We knew that the endocrinologist had placed several orders, but we had no idea what we were getting into until the pharmacy tech handed us a grocery bag full of glucometers, test strips, ketone strips, lancet devices, lancet drums, insulin vials, insulin pens, glucagon kits, and syringes.
I’m sure I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights when the tech asked me the obligatory, “Do you have any questions for the pharmacist?” I was too exhausted to articulate even one of the 7,000 questions buzzing around in my brain. Instead, I shook my head.
As the tech was ringing up all of our items, the young pharmacist (anyone younger than me is young) who was on duty came out from behind the counter. I braced myself for more information that I wasn’t going to be able to process. Instead, he opened up his white coat and showed Liam his insulin pump. I have no idea what he actually said to Liam. That entire weekend is a bit of a blur. The gist of it was something like this. “I’ve had type 1 diabetes for a long time. It’s not that bad. You’ll still be able to do everything you like to do.” It was a small act of kindness that had a huge impact. I smile at that pharmacist every time I see him. Someday I will have the composure to thank him for what he did that day without looking like a blubbering idiot in the middle of the pharmacy.
Written by Susan Ramsey
