childrenshortstoriesnov2005

His name is Donny. He is 12 years old, and in sixth grade. It was
November, next year at this time he would be in junior high school. In
September he found out he had type 2 diabetes, and he’s been feeling
kind of sad. He felt sad because now he had to take all kinds of special
medicine and a shot every day. He felt different from the other kids in
school, and he didn’t like that. He didn’t tell a lot of people about his
diabetes because he was afraid of being laughed at and teased.
In fact he had to wear a medical alert necklace but he kept it in his pocket
so no one would see it. Thanksgiving was coming up but he didn’t feel he
had one reason to be thankful. This is his first Thanksgiving that he had
to watch what he ate, and that wasn’t going to be fun.
Donny’s parents saw he was feeling sad but nothing they said would
really make him feel better or more comfortable at school. One day while
sitting in class a new kid came in and took a seat next to Donny. The boy
looked over at Donny and said “hello!" "My name is Matthew, and I’m from
out of town we had to move here because of my father’s job.” Donny
replied “nice to meet you my name is Donny.”
That afternoon the two boys played at recess, climbing the jungle gym
and playing kick ball. It was a lot of fun for Donny, and it took his mind off
his own problems at least for a little while. The two quickly became good
friends, and each day at recess they played games together. However,
Donny still didn’t want to tell Matthew about his diabetes.
One day at the end of recess, when they were walking back in, Donny
noticed a medical alert necklace around Matthew’s neck. Donny asked
him “what is that for?” Matthew answered, “I am diabetic so I have to wear
this necklace in case something happens.” Then Donny confided to
Mathhew that he was a diabetic also, and asked “doesn’t it make you
sad?” “You always seem so happy!” Matthew said “A long time ago it
did, but now I’m very used to it, I take a shot everyday. When I take my
medicine I look at it as another day I won’t feel sick. And that makes me
feel better about it. Donny quickly responded, “that’s a good way to look
at it.
Then a girl that was walking by overheard the conversation and stopped
to listen. She said to the boys, “Hi my name is Amy and I heard you
talking." "I am diabetic to." The boys introduced themselves and Matthew
said, “We should head in before we get in trouble!” On the way in Donny
thought to himself, “Wow, I am not alone." "There are other kids that are
diabetic here.” He suddenly felt better about it, and took his medical alert
necklace from his pocket and wore it for the first time. He felt good about
it.
Every day he talked with Matthew and Amy, which was helpful especially
if he had a question about diabetes. The good news is after 6th grade
they were all going to the same junior high school. The days went on and
then it was Thanksgiving day. He thought back to the beginning of the
month when he wasn’t thankful for anything. Now he was very thankful for
his friends Matthew and Amy, in fact his friends are the one the things he
said he was thankful for when it was his time to talk before dinner.
Now it was time for the turkey! He loved turkey and stuffing. He really did
eat his share. Later on he saw other family members eating a delicious
looking pumpkin pie, which was one of the things he really shouldn’t be
eating. His mother then brought out another pumpkin pie. She said to
him, “Donny, this one you can have a piece of, I made it sugar free for
you." He happily said to his mother “Thank you!” He didn’t know there
were things like sugar-free pie, but he did know things were really going
to be OK. It turned out to be a very good Thanksgiving day for him.
The End