Never Again, Lisa: Childhood Diabetes in a Dysfunctional Family

Lisa's grandfather worked hard on the farm where the German family had made their new life and he also drank hard, especially during the depression. Lisa's father tried to follow his dad's example of hard work but somehow there was never the same challenge. There was more time to drink. Lisa's mum was a good woman who believed in the difference between right and wrong. She had inherited her own mother's distaste for the cold barren land, but hid this from her family. Lisa was the third child born to the couple, and during her childhood there was only occasional uneasiness, when her mother was unsure of Lisa's father's whereabouts. When she attempted her gentle but untolerated requests for his physical or emotional presence, he could not stand it. He had so little to give.

At age eleven, Lisa was diagnosed. Then came the repeated hospital visits. Needles, instructions, and back to school. It was a daily struggle to give herself a shot. Two years later, when the second episode of ketoacidosis occurred, Lisa was sent to the large medical center, to the specialist. He had both Lisa and her mother go through a week of diabetes education, but he spoke only to her mother, who nodded although she hardly understood English well enough to comprehend. Nevertheless, they returned home full of good intentions.

A week later, Lisa asked her mother about the diet that had been prescribed for her. The answer was that Lisa's father did not have enough money to pay for it. The mother had already pleaded with her husband for the special treatment. Yes, she had pleaded, she had cajoled, and she had even given in to his sexual advances in exchange for fulfillment of Lisa's needs. He, in turn, had learned of a new way …