Some people think scaling buildings and breaking through walls is tough, but I know a nine-year-old girl who is tougher than that.
Sometimes you meet the most amazing people in the least suspecting ways. I did not know that when I took a babysitting job almost seven years ago that I would meet a hero.
Lily was three and Ellie could not even walk yet. I remember them peaking around the sofa in the living room to see who had intruded their home. That day, I think I burned lunch and put a diaper on backwards and then left convinced that I would never see them again. But I came back the next day and the days soon turned into weeks and the weeks turned into years. A little later, Rye was born and immediately became my favorite little boy in the world. I would take care of the kids in the summers when I came home from college and we would go on all kinds of adventures together.
Lily had the true soul of an artist and could paint for hours. Ellie would be outside collecting bugs and getting the clean socks I had just put on her dirty. Rye would either want to cuddle or swordfight depending on his mood. And I would just watch them and be so grateful that I was let into their little lives.
In the spring, when Lily was four she went to the doctor for a bladder infection, but was soon hospitalized. I remember getting the call from my mom telling me she had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. My heart broke for that little girl.
Needles, testing blood sugar, and counting carbs all became a part of her life. Trips to the doctor’s midnight blood sugar tests and insulin injections all became routine. A few years later she was also diagnosed with Celiac disease which meant she could no longer eat gluten.
I remember one day Lily and I were talking about the story of Aladdin and the magic genie and wondering where that lamp ended up. I asked her what she would wish for if she found it. She didn’t hesitate for a moment. She told me that her first wish would be that she didn’t have diabetes, her second wish would be that she didn’t have Celiac disease so she could eat gluten, and her third wish would be that no one else would have those things either.
Sometimes, I think I have problems and I complain endlessly about them. I have not heard Lily complain once about not being able to eat birthday cupcakes at school, or having to prick her fingers countless times a day. She is one of the strongest people I know and so in honor of World Diabetes day, (which was a few days ago) I just want everyone to know that Lily is a hero.
Lily, I know sometimes life is hard but you never let it stop you from doing the things that you love to do. If I ever have a bad day I hope I can be as brave as you are. I love your beautiful drawings, your silly jokes, and how you take such good care of Ellie and Rye (and your mom and dad too). Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. You have probably made me smile a million times since I have met you. I love you and miss you, baby girl! You will always my hero.
