The Diabetes Coincidences just keep coming!

I posted a few days ago about going to the bank and the pharmacy.  In both places I ended up finding diabetes connections through conversations. I found it interesting as I said, but last night really has my mind wondering. You see, I am one of those people that believe that everything happens for a reason and that many things that happen are signs for you to pay attention to. I am definitely thinking that these coincidences mean something but I haven't come up with the what yet.

Okay, so what the heck has got me so existential today? It all began with the decision that my fiance and I  desperately needed a night out.  Not just a night to visit with friends but a night on the town.  Since my move, our lives have been pretty full with unpacking, renovating, rearranging and trying to get settled.  At the end of the day we have simply died, unless we had company and then we pretended to be alive until it was polite to yawn.

Last night, after a day of working at this and that, we showered up, dudded up, and headed out to an outdoor festival.  I had heard of this event and always thought it would be interesting to attend but never had. As we drove downtown to the venue, the rain began. There had been light showers all evening but as we got closer the skies opened up and we began to doubt that this was for us.  We aren't twenty anymore and standing outside in the rain to watch a concert or darting between the drops to check out the next bar was just not our thing.

Fate had a different plan for us and the rain stopped for a bit.  We found a parking spot and walked up to the street were the festival was held.  As we were standing waiting for tickets, a man approached me.  He was respectable looking enough but out of the blue he asked me "Are you going to see April Wine?".  I looked at him a little confused. I honestly had no idea what we were going to see but I did not think that April Wine was part of our evening.  I said I didn't know and quickly moved on.

The rain came off and on.  We ran into friends on the street and soon headed into a club to watch the festivities from their balcony.  It was close to a large outdoor stage and there were big screens for people to view the stage activity from afar. As we stood wondering who was going to play next, there were rumblings around us that April Wine was playing tonight. We wondered if they were playing somewhere else but soon a band hit the stage and we knew that we were in fact going to be listening to April Wine that evening. 

I was pleasantly surprised and we enjoyed our view from above for quite a few songs.  After a bit we headed back down to the street and close to where some friends were standing.  Things were too crowded and loud to get close and talk so we simply enjoyed the music. That is when things became a little more strange...in my new diabetes kind of way.

We had swayed to songs like "Tonight is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love", "You Could have been a Lady" and many more.  There was a pause and the gentleman who appeared to be the lead singer, Myles Goodwyn, stated that they believe strongly in and support one charity.  They wanted people to be aware of it and to help them support it as well. "You see" he said, "my son was diagnosed at 8 years old with Type 1 Diabetes and we support and fundraise for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation."

My jaw dropped.  I could not believe this. I know that "famous" people have kids with diabetes or have diabetes themselves but this man was speaking my language.  He spoke of the fear.  He spoke of the admiration for his son and his wish to take this disease from him. He spoke of the desire for a cure.  Remember that this was the very same day I had read about 5-28% of people with Type 1 diabetes dying from Dead in Bed--I was very emotional.  He had wrote a song for his son about his bravery.  I have tried to find it but the noise of the crowds and the outdoor sound system did not allow me to hear enough of the lyrics or what he said to find the song. A little research on their website suggests that this young boy was diagnosed only a few years ago. 

I walked away from the concert with a new love for this band.  I have always liked April Wine (my oldest son loves them and was terribly jealous to have found out that we saw them) but now we had a connection.  We both had a son fighting this terrible disease.  We both knew what it was like to fear for their health--to fear for their lives. He was doing what he could and hopefully I will be able to do a lot more yet as well.

So that is my latest diabetes coincidence in a matter of weeks. I wonder what the next one will be and when will I figure out exactly what they all mean beyond the fact that I just can't escape this disease!