It was a usual Friday evening when we were having our weekly baby-sitting club meeting. We were discussing one of our clients who was just about to give birth and needed a baby-sitter for her older child.
Sorry! I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Stacey McGill. I have recently moved to this teeny-weeny town, Stonybrook, which is quite a shock since I grew up in New York! I loved it there. I had lots of friends and lots to do. Everything was great until about a year ago, when I was diagnosed with diabetes. But hold on, don’t be shocked. It’s not as bad as it sounds.
My doctor told me that with the right treatment, I could lead a normal life. When my family came to know about it, they were taken aback and my aunt almost fell off the chair! That didn’t happen. Just kidding! For those who don’t know, diabetes is a problem with a gland called the pancreas that is in your body. When the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin to do its job, the glucose from the sugar you eat builds up in your blood stream and makes you sick. When my doctor informed me that I needed to eat a healthy diet with an insulin injection every day, I knew I was doomed! And here comes the sad part.
When I went back to school after being diagnosed, a lot of things suddenly changed at once. My best friend ditched me. Everyone would move away when I would go near them as they thought diabetes was contagious. My teachers and parents became too overprotective. I didn’t feel at home anymore. So, when mom and dad announced we were moving to Stonybrook, I didn’t even care. Let’s chuck the sad part now, cause it’s kind of making me depressed.
I have new best friends in Stonybrook now and the best part is, I am part of a baby-sitting club. One evening, as we were discussing a nasty client, something started to beep. I immediately realised it was my blood sugar monitor. I was petrified! Because I had not told my new friends in Stonybrook that I had diabetes. My friends looked at me suspiciously. Panic struck! I started rummaging in my bag so it would seem like I was looking for my phone that was ringing. I excused myself and ran into the washroom with my phone just to find out that my blood sugar was low. Damn it! My sugar levels were not co-operating. When I went home, I drank a small carton of apple juice to steady my sugar levels.
When my overbearing mother noticed that I was pale and was drinking apple juice, she started questioning me. After she bombarded me with 50 questions (which felt like a billion!), I asked her to relax and told her that my levels were normal again. A week after that day, it was a normal weekly meeting at the baby-sitter’s club.
When I entered the room, I realised that all eyes were on me. I asked if something was wrong when Kirsty showed me a video, which was circulating in the school social media app, of me in New York collapsing on stage. This was when I didn’t know I had diabetes. Tears of sadness formed in my eyes. I buried my face in my hands and cried the sadness out of my heart. I ran out of the room and kept running until I reached my home. I jumped on my bed and replayed what had just happened. I was still in shock and wondered who had shared the video or how they had found out. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Claudia. I was terrified and decided to not pick up the call as I needed some time to process what had just happened. Was I going to lose another set of friends? What would my friends think of me? How would I explain this to my friends? All kinds of negative thoughts sprang into my head. I just couldn’t sleep.
The next morning, I got ready and went to school. My friends tried to speak to me, but I did my best to avoid them. I was miserable! I decided I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore. When the recess started, everyone asked me why I was avoiding them. I took two deep breaths and told them I had diabetes and I had discovered it when I was in New York. I also told them about my New York friends and how they betrayed me.
They understood me well and were great listeners. When I finished, there was a moment of silence. Kristy said that I was very brave for admitting this and very courageous for doing the right thing. Claudia spread her arms out, gesturing for a group hug. Everyone laughed and consoled me. I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest. I joined them hugging and laughing, and once again thanked god for having the truest best friends in the whole wide world. Together, we baked cookies and decided to have a slumber party. We stayed up all night exchanging ghost stories, playing board games and most of all, enjoying ourselves!
