Before my daughter was diagnosed Type 1 diabetic, I could never foresee how this disease would effect our family as a whole. 

My daughter Aubrey is 8 years old and was diagnosed T1D July 2021. She went in with a blood sugar of 900, had lost 10lbs recently and was severely dehydrated. She spent 3 nights in our local childrens hospital, getting her levels stabilized and her and I going through a crash course on how to manage Type 1 diabetes on our own. I would never be able to put into words how scared we were to be in charge of keeping our daughter alive by ourselves when we know just as much as she does about this “new to us” disease. The picture I chose to use for this petition is of our daughter after being admitted. She had to be hooked up to iv fluids for 3 days straight. She was so ill, and she was skin and bones. This picture represents what diabetes can do to our children. And it can get so much worse. 

We are 6 months into this new life and we have finally gotten to a place of routine and more confidence. Everyday is different. Some days keeping her blood sugar in range is not hard, some days its very difficult. More injections needed, keeping her hydrated, checking her urine for ketones…it’s a full time job. I’m blessed to be able to be home for the time being, and at her beckoned call. However, there are parents who simply cannot due to work commitments and fear of repercussions from HR if saving their child’s life is their priority. I get calls from our daughters school nurse often, she needs me often. I don’t know how I could manage a job outside of parenting and keeping my daughters health needs top priority. I see so many fellow parents on discussion boards at a loss. They are suffering scrutiny from their workplace for needing to take care of their sick child. It’s not just a normal sick day for normal kids. Imagine being on a 2 hour schedule night and day, pushing fluids, checking blood sugars, checking urine for ketones, administering insulin injections, praying all along your child does not end up in DKA(Diabetic keto acidosis) a very common fatal complication that comes with diabetes, which requires immediate hospitalization. 

These situations occur out of nowhere, as parents it’s our job to keep our children healthy and alive, and as a diabetic mom, that job takes precedence over everything. 
I want regulations in place for parents of diabetic children. We need certain accommodations. There has to be something in place, for us to fall back on in these emergent situations that will protect our jobs. I hate to see others struggling so much with being made to choose between their employment(that funds their child’s medical care) or the life of their child. Facing horrible workplace treatment for needing to make the decision to put our child's life first is unacceptable. All of this is unacceptable.

Diabetes is listed under the ADA protections. Let’s go a step further and create a safety net for parents who, when necessary, have to chose keeping their child alive, over a day at work.