To the Future Wife of a Man With Chronic Conditions

I have type 1 diabetes and mild cerebral palsy. While I have those conditions, I am not defined by those conditions.

While my blood sugars and the tightness of my hamstrings may vary on a daily basis, my love for you never will.

I am Brooks. I am not the number on my meter or the slight limp I have when I walk. I am the kid who, thanks to his devoted cousin, finally learned how to ride a bike at the age of 15. I am the man whose dedication and soft smile won you over.

There will be days when I feel down and when high or low blood sugar make me feel less than great. There will be days when I become frustrated and want to hang in the towel. There will be days when my feet are tired and my muscles ache.

However, there will never be a day when I cease to love you.

For so long as you continue to be by my side, there’s nothing we can’t face.

As we grow older and our children mature, I am confident our love, and our faith, will hold us together. In the end, neither of us will remember my cerebral palsy or diabetes. What will we remember?

Our kids and all of the good times we had with them. We’ll remember how we first met and laugh about the nervous exchanges we first had back then. We’ll smile, remembering our trips to Disney World with the kids and all the fun adventures we had together. We’ll cry as we send our kids off to college and into the great beyond.

We’ll have both good days and bad days, but we’ll make it through.

Through the ups and the downs of high and low blood sugar, I’ll be there for you.

I simply ask you to be there for me.

Know that while my blood sugars and stamina might waiver, my love for you never will. 

After all, my last days won’t be spent worrying over my A1C1 or the tightness of my hamstrings. They’ll be spent fondly remembering the memories I made with you.

And believe me, those memories won’t include finger sticks or muscle spasms. They’ll include the smiles, the joy and all of the collective memories we’ve made over the years.

While type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy are both chronic conditions I live with, know that having you by my side makes it all a little easier. And who knows, maybe one day I won’t have to live with type 1.

Until then, I’ll rely on God’s love and yours to help make living with CP and T1D a little easier.

I love you,
Brooks

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