Meet Leah: A Mother, Mental Health Advocate, and Resilient Caregiver

Leah (a.k.a. Pokey Mom) has shared her family's incredible transformation on her blog, PokeyMom. Before discovering that her son (Pokey Boy) had Type 1 Diabetes, Leah was already navigating her own anxiety and depression. After his diagnosis, these challenges intensified—but so did her strength.

I sat down with Leah to talk about parenting through crisis, advocating for a child with chronic illness, and the small, meaningful ways she nurtures her mental health and family’s well-being every day.

Discovering Mental Health Patterns Early On

Q: The first time I read your blog, you mentioned in a very, small phrase that you dealt with depression and anxiety. When did you become of aware of it?

Leah: It probably started around high school...early adulthood. I thought to myself this is depression and anxiety. So I talked with my doctor. I'm taking meds that have brought it down for several years now. But definitely, when he [PokeyBoy] was diagnosed it brought everything back out full force.

Parenting and Anxiety: When Life Adds More Stress

Q:Did having your son in 2010 increase your mental health challenges?

A: Not when I had him... when he started getting sick in Summer 2016. That definitely added fuel to the fire. With my depression, there was a lot more sleeping. With my anxiety, I was a lot more irritable not necessarily a panic. I was really on edge.

Me: That’s so important to name—people often overlook irritability as a sign of anxiety.

A: O yeah! Irritation and anger, not at anybody but more at the situation.

The Stress of a Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis

🩺 "There is always a chance of dipping into a coma at night..."
Leah: With Type 1 Diabetes, there’s always that worry. He can’t feel when his sugar drops. So we set alarms, wake up in the night, and check him. We had to find our own balance.
At first, we followed everything the doctor said—exactly. Up at 2 a.m., measuring everything. We’ve adjusted a bit since then, just to make it sustainable.

[With PokeyBoy] There is always a chance of dipping down into a coma at night because he can't feel when his sugar is dropping...we've been setting alarms, getting up and poking his figure to see where he is at. We had to find a nice balance with that.

[In the beginning], we did everything to the book. Everything the doctor said to do...that's what we did. If the doctor said to get him up at 2 AM, we did 2 AM. But we have done just a little bit of adjusting to make it through.

Family Life and Finding a New Normal

Q: How did the family adjust—especially his little sister?

Leah: At first it was really difficult because we were following it to the "T" which doesn't really work for real life. They had talked about having him eat between 4 hours between meals. So we would feed him even when he wasn't hungry, which meant that the whole family ate at the same time. We thought he couldn't go further than four [hours]. Sometimes we would say, "we don't want to eat; we just ate a few hours ago." So in that aspect that was an adjustment. We still have to make sure he eats pretty regularly.

For a few weeks, I took the week off of work and gave him his shots every day because the school did not have anyone that could do that because our district is small. He now has a Para-Pro and the district nurse was trained and she is readily available. If she is not, there is a substitute that is also trained.

Managing Anxiety as a Busy Mom

Q: What helps you manage your anxiety now?

Leah: Definitely self-care is imperative. When I find myself being anxious or irritable, I know I need to take a step back. I can't just do art on my own because they [Pokey Kids] are into everything, so I try to organize, set them up with arts and crafts activities so they are occupied too. I really think it helps them because they aren't fighting or anything.

Q: Well they are learning the skills at the same time.

A: Yeah (giggle)...I put down a plastic table cloth, we just paint and do our thing. They aren't finished yet but they are working on bird houses...then the gardening is really helpful. In the spring and early summer we have black raspberries, so that's fun. We go out and walk through the woods. I also think as much structure I can put into a day helps. We've done reading and more organized play. I've been doing a lot more reading myself.

painting by Leah depicting mental health struggles — Pin this image

This painting was provided by Leah to demonstrate her talent and how she copes with life.
Notice the intense moods captured within this painting.

Q: What are some strengths you think you and your family has gained from this experience?

Leah: We learned how to communicate [a lot more] when we are frustrated. At first, I think everybody was trying to be tough and it came off like we were angry. It was good for the kids when we did show emotion. Learning that we had to communicate a lot more, especially my husband and I, and not internalize stuff.

I'm somebody who needs to get out of the house sometimes, where my husband is perfectly happy to be here and working on things. I think just balancing each other out.

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Q: What helps you manage your anxiety now?

Leah: Patience...I think I'm a pretty patient person. But I think when I'm tired or low energy small things bother me a lot more. Being more patient...letting things out. Understanding that other people don't have the same mindset like we do. A good example: we were Downtown and someone offered him a slushy. Another person offered a cutie instead. Well that is still a sugar. But I had to think about how everyone does not have the same mindset.

Q:Yeah, I do think that would be important to teach in schools, that fruits are still a type of sugar.

Leah: Yeah it is...so being more patient. Reminding myself that people are not going to always think the way that I think.

And there you have! The trials and adjustments that had to be made for the lemons that life throw at you. Yet, despite it all, Leah and her family have discovered strengths amid life’s challenges. She’s also gained valuable insight into areas that need further growth. She is the epitome of an individual finding A Solution B.

Clearly, we don’t have to have it all. When life throws lemons, be like Leah—become an Overcomer.

More about Leah's experience PokeyMomBlog

Call To Action

Leah’s story is one of many untold truths behind strength and survival.
If you’re a woman entrepreneur, caregiver, or leader navigating anxiety, burnout, or just trying to keep it all together—you're not alone.

Therapy can be a space to breathe, be real, and be supported.
[Learn about therapy for women leaders and entrepreneurs here]

You don’t have to do it all without support.

Written by Reynelda Jones, LMSW-C, ADS, CIMPH

Overcomer - Leah