roughly 2,000 finger sticks

roughly 500 middle of the night blood sugar checks

roughly 700 shots

roughly 60 infusion set changes

roughly 200 episodes of hypoglycemia

roughly 1000 episodes of hyperglycemia

roughly feeling like a perfectly fine nine year old 1.5 days out of every 3

roughly counting 45,000 carbohydrates

roughly dosing 5,000 units of insulin

roughly costing $6,000 on diagnosis, treatment and supplies

roughly 100 hours in a doctor’s office, emergency room or hospital

roughly countless tears shed

roughly untold moments of uncertainty and head-scratching

roughly umpteen hours of lost sleep and oodles of life-saving worry

Thinking things could always be worse: everyday