Editor’s note: Please know if you live with diabetes or parent a child with diabetes this poem may bring up difficult emotion for you. This past week, two young people with Type 1 diabetes perished. I was moved to write a poem after learning about their deaths that occurred just days apart from one other. My heart felt broken as I mourned for their lives lost. Putting these words onto paper was a way for me to express some of the grief I was feeling. Living with Type 1 diabetes, whether one knows the individual who passed away or not is irrelevant. When one is given an exit pass and leaves our shared community too soon, we all feel the ripples left in the pond.
I had the sad occasion of attending a memorial service for my aunt recently. She passed away December 22, 2011, just 2 days before Christmas. She was not just any aunt. Her name was Aunt Georgie. She had a very special way about her. Her face and whole being would light up when you came into the room. She never left you feeling less than special after being in her presence.