Demosthene’s birthday in 2017
Demosthenes’ birthday in 2017 was celebrated by all together as every year.
Demosthenes is my oldest son, who does not suffer from diabetes or celiac disease.
However, he is obliged to eat gluten-free cake that I make and weight his sister’s piece (in order to calculate carbohydrates and therefore insulin that she has to get).
The cake I made for him this year, has a chocolate spongecake as a base, which of course is gluten-free a dose of patisserie cream (1lt milk, 100g corn flour, 150g white sugar, vanilla extract and 10g fresh butter), white chocolate ganache (100g heavy cream and 180g white chocolate) and strawberry jam (about 200g).
The frosting is with vegan whipped cream, whisked with powdered sugar and decorated his cake with strawberries.
This year’s 16th birthday was sweet Sixteen birthday, that are celebrated mainly in America and Canada and are the benchmark in each child’s puberty.
While I have always believed that middle-aged children are the most pressured in a family, I have to admit that in my family the rules are different. The one who may be more pressured is Demosthenes. Essentially, while he is the firstborn his needs come second or third or fourth in the family.
This is because the older, who does not ail (thank God for that) by any autoimmune disease, is the one who should accept- non negotiably and effortlessly – any particularities created by the family. And they certainly arise from the attention of the other three who suffer, either with celiac disease (my twins boys) or with diabetes mellitus (my little daughter).
We need both to be, as a mother and my husband as a father, constantly alert to any child’s outbreaks, as well as to their ongoing education in the family-related diseases.
Of course, each child needs its own attention and satisfaction of his/her personal needs and peculiarities. Keeping balances was always family’s concern. Whether every child ails or not. And this is definitely known by all parents and especially parents with many children.
So, in my own family everyone is trying firstly to understand the diabetes’ particularities (hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, carbohydrate equivalents, fat, insulin pump, blood sugar measurement, insulin pens and so on), but also the particularities of celiac disease (separate utensils, attention to any gluten existence, foods and formulations that may contain gluten and much more).
The rest – unfortunately or fortunately – come to second place.
This is because everyday life and its rhythms combined with juvenile diabetes and celiac disease are indeed very different and definitely more demanding.
I wish and hope, my oldest (Demosthenes) will continue to be as healthy and cooperative – as his is today – and through these peculiarities that he faces, to be led in ways of knowledge and self-knowledge, to acts of solidarity for his fellow human beings and eventually to form a healthy personality.
May the road ahead of him be long and God help him to be always healthy, by laying the foundations for the bright future that awaits him.
Happy, healthy years Demosthenes!!! We all love you more than anything and we will always be by your side!
