Never lose hope, my dear heart, miracles dwell in the invisible. – Rumi
Ahhh Rumi - you always speak to my heart.
Diabetes is an invisible disease but Ocean is not invisible. Over the last two days I sent out the small essay to diabetes charities, newspapers and TV stations. And they have proven that Ocean is not invisible because they have responded. We didn't need their proof, but we are excited to share Ocean's story and bring hope to other type one families.
Nonverbal T1D Toddler Paints his way to Alert Dog
Our two year old, Ocean Scott, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a month before his third birthday. Due to a protracted period of detection, and severe DKA, not only did he end up with a temporary femoral line to save his life, but his speech suffered a severe regression - or in other words, he could no longer talk.
As a parent we fear that the challenges he will face from t1d and its complications may overshadow his journey in life.
However, Ocean has already learned to express himself; through his art. As he has had zero instruction, what he paints truly is his soul - literally making the unconscious, conscious - and by doing so, quietly illuminating the beauty that largely goes unrecognized in our own.
He has already shown us that no matter what our struggles in life, we all have our gifts and it is time we stop criticizing each other for our differences and celebrating the gifts we each have. Its time for us to live.
His art and my blog at oceansart.org are dedicated to helping others in their search for joy while living with chronic disease. You will even find videos of Ocean painting. Half of the proceeds from Oceans art will be given to diabetes research and the other half will be saved to purchase a Diabetic Alert Dog.
Our lives have been forever changed by diabetes and at times it is hard to see the light but Ocean’s art shines so bright that it reminds us to hope.