Kevin Kline is not just a great actor, who can forget “The Big Chill” or “A Fish Called Wanda”. He is also a father of a person with type 1 diabetes.
Kevin Kline’s now adult son Owen was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was a child.
In 2011, Mr. Kline spoke to the American Congress about funding help for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations efforts to find a cure for diabetes.
On CNN, he told the world that “Once you have a child with diabetes you immediately stop being merely a parent. You become a doctor, nurse, nutritionist, expert.” Mr. Kline when on to point out that diabetes never stops and worries never sleep…and neither do the parents.
The interviewers seemed to get it. Diabetes was taken seriously during this interview which focused heavily on advances in technology.
There have been incredible leaps in technology over the years. Sadly these technologies are still exceptionally expensive. For some, that financial cost makes them out of reach.
During Kevin Kline’s CNN interview and his speeches to congress in 2011, he was inspiring. He showed true emotion as a father of a child with diabetes. The worry and sleepless nights were visible on his face.
Mr. Kline described diabetes as being similar to having a newborn all over again. With a newborn, we carefully listen for breathing and fear SIDs. With diabetes, we also watch breathing but fear ketones, Dead in Bed, and medical malfunction to name a few.
Just after watching this interview, I scanned through my Facebook news and noticed blue candles. Another child had died. He was a teenaged boy, just out of high school. This morning I received a memorial from a family of a 24-year-old young man who had died because his diabetes became too much of a burden for him to carry.
It’s all very overwhelming. I pray that the American politicians listen to what these JDRF delegates have to say. I pray that the world listens as well. Together we can work towards a cure, not just a larger bandaid. Together our children will live long and healthy lives.
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