A LIfe Well LIved

Four years ago I was new to this disease.

I was trying to figure out how to raise a three year old with diabetes.  She had just started pumping.  She had just started preschool.

I needed people who understood.  I needed to know it was going to be ok.  I needed advice.

And I REALLY needed to find other mothers of little girls with type 1 diabetes.

I had started blogging over the summer.  There weren't many of us then.  Just a handful.

We became Facebook friends.  We commented on each other's blogs.  We were there for each other.  We all needed that "same".

Somehow the idea of an online chat was devised.  We figured  out how to do a chat room and had a standing Sunday night D Mama chat.

Actually, I think that's when the term D Mama was coined.  Back when there were just a handful of us trying to figure this thing out.  Back before "official" blogs.  Back when no one was reading but us!

That's when I met Shamae.

I loved reading her blog.  She had (at the time) two little girls.  Sydney and Morgan.   Sydney had Type 1.  And she was just a little older than Sweets.

She had walked this road before me.  And I needed her expertise.  I needed her humor.

I needed that feeling of "same".

Those chats and blogs and Mamas were sometimes the only thing keeping me sane!

Shamae made this awesome video a few years ago about the DOC and how sometimes we all need to be with others who understand.  Our kids were so little....!

Time passed.  Our kids were getting older.  Not toddlers anymore... but big kids!

Life happened.

The chats stopped.

We kept in touch through blogs and Facebook updates.

Shamae had another little girl, Hadlee, who was born early and with various complications.  Shamae had her own health problems.  And Morgan tested positive for Type 1 antibodies.

We may not have all been as close as we once were but we still hold a special spot in each other's hearts.

I was just laughing at one of her updates last week.

That's why the news I got on Sunday stopped me cold.

Shamae had passed away in her sleep at the young age of 30.

What?

This doesn't seem real.  How can this be?  It must be a cruel joke.

Except that it's not.

Please keep Shamae's family in your thoughts and prayers.

If you have memories, pictures, stories or anything you would like to share, please do so.

Shambo, you will be missed beyond comprehension.  It was a pleasure to know you and a gift to learn from you during a very difficult time in my life.  You will never be forgotten.

I will leave you with this quote from Shamae's blog...

"I turned 29 on June 11 (2012).   It's a big step. I feel that life is speeding by and it just doesn't slow down. Every year that I age I know it means my parents and grandparents who are still around are just another year older as well. When aging gets a little scary I just remember one of my favorite quotes, "Never regret growing older. Tis a privilege denied to many." We have had some super scary health issues over the past 2 years and I will never regret having another birthday to celebrate."

Honor Shamae by living your life fully.  By sucking up every ounce of life.  By never letting Diabetes - or anything else - get in the way.  Don't wait until tomorrow.  Live and Love fully - Today.