A Real Parent’s Journey Through Diabetes Diagnosis
Sometimes there’s just no “plan.”
And if you—like most parents—have gotten pretty good at planning your way through life, nothing will shake up that confidence like a sudden, life-changing diagnosis for your child. As parents, we invest so much of our energy in “getting it right”—from late-night Google searches on fevers to monitoring every new milestone. But nothing prepares you for hearing the words, “There is no plan for diabetes. You have zero control.”
On a recent episode of The Real Family Eats podcast, we listened as single mom Rachel opened up about her real-time journey parenting a child with newly diagnosed Type I Diabetes. In Rachel’s words, “I like to have a plan.” But suddenly, all those carefully built roadmaps evaporated, replaced with injections, all-night alarms, and a courage she didn’t know she had.
It’s stories like Rachel’s—raw, honest, imperfect—that remind us at Embrace Renewal Therapy & Wellness Collective, our work is about far more than clinical interventions or curated workshops. It’s about helping parents and couples survive the “zero control” seasons in a way that leaves your relationship and wellness a bit stronger on the other side.
The Wellness Gap: Parenting, Partnerships, and Personal Growth
What happens to our partnerships and marriages when our parenting journey starts feeling like a crisis survival course? If you’ve ever silently panicked at 3 AM because you’re sure one misstep will harm your child, you’re not alone. Rachel’s story is one parents and couples often recognize—waves of guilt, anxiety, and the exhaustion of constant, invisible problem-solving.
So, where do YOU find yourself in these moments? Are you just surviving—or do you have space to thrive?
At Embrace Renewal Therapy, we specialize in supporting parents just like you. From couples workshops that rebuild trust and intimacy during seasons of stress, to newborn baby couples workshops that address the seismic shifts a new life can bring, to therapy intensives designed to offer hope and skill-building, we get it: the journey is messy. And you do not have to travel this alone.
Why Relationship Wellness Matters
When we heard Rachel worry—“You cannot send me home with my child, I am not equipped to take care of her, and I’m going to kill her”—we recognized that underlying thread of so many couples’ and parents’ experiences. Isolation, the fear of “getting it wrong,” and the urge to bottle up overwhelming feelings because, as Rachel says, “emotions are stupid, I am not dealing with them.”
But here’s what we know, both as therapists and as real people: bottling up doesn’t work. Eventually, it bursts. And when it does, relationships suffer—from frayed communication and resentment, to a lack of intimacy and feeling like you’re parenting (or living) on different islands.
This is why we believe in relationship wellness as part of parent wellness. When we make time to communicate, to empathize, to let each other in, we lay the foundation for families that weather the storms together (not just in parallel, but truly together).
How Embrace Renewal Can Help (Beyond Therapy)
So, if you’ve found yourself in survival mode lately… that’s okay. If you need to borrow hope or strategies from parents like Rachel, or from seasoned therapists who get it, that’s okay too. Wellness, for you and your relationship, is not selfish—it’s a gift to your whole family.
Ready to rediscover resilience, partnership, and hope? Check out The Real Family Eats podcast for more real-life parenting inspiration. Then, connect with me to invest in your own wellness and relationship health.
Because whatever you’re facing—you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Explore support, tools, and workshops at Embrace Renewal Therapy & Wellness Collective—where your family’s wellness journey begins.
